Portland is the biggest city in the state of Oregon. It is also the county seat of Multnomah County. Situated in the Pacific Northwest, Portland spans the Willamette River south of its convergence with the Columbia River.

While most of the city lies in Multnomah County, some parts of Portland fall within Clackamas and Washington counties. The city has a population of 550,000.

Portland's climate is ideal for the growing of roses, and it has many rose gardens. As a result, Portland has earned the sobriquet of "Rose City ? or "The City of Roses ?. Other popular nicknames include ""Bridgetown"" (because of its several bridges), "Stumptown", "Puddletown" (owing to the weather), and ""River City"" (because of its closeness to the Columbia and Willamette Rivers). Other modern nicknames for the city are "P-town", "PDX" and "Rip City."

In its formative years, Portland was in the shadow of Oregon City, which was then the territorial capital. However, its better locality gave it a distinct edge over Oregon and other contending cities like Sellwood and Milwaukie. By 1850, the city had about 800 citizens, a log cabin hotel, its own newspaper called the Weekly Oregonian, and a steam sawmill.

For the greater part of the 19th century, Portland was the key port in the Pacific Northwest. Like most West Coast ports, Portland was prone to "shanghaiing ?. In other words, men were drugged, kidnapped and forced to serve terms working on ships. There were tunnels under city blocks that stretched for several blocks from the Willamette River. These tunnels were built for perfectly valid reasons, but soon became infamous because of their alleged use in such acts. Today, tours of these tunnels are given.

Portland's climate is seasonal and moderate. The rainfall averages about 35 to 42 inches annually. Notwithstanding its positioning on the Marine West Coast climate region, the city of Portland, surprisingly, shows many traits of a Mediterranean climate. The city has relatively wet winters and dry, hot summers. The summer months stretch from June to September; 80 percent of the annual rainfall occurs between the months of November and April. Winter temperatures can dip to 35F (2C), and summer averages about 80F (26C). However, temperatures can get up to 100F (38C) when heat waves take place. All said and done, the summers have copious sunshine and are quite pleasant.