The State of Oregon Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fort Rock Cave and the Paisley Caves

The Fort Rock Caves previously were contended to hold the oldest DNA of humans found in North America before the findings of human DNA in the Paisley Caves, up to 13,200 years. It was added to the US National Register of Historical Places in 1966.

As of 2002, the oldest DNA evidence of humans in North America have been reportedly found to exist in the Paisley Caves in Oregon. They are dated as old as 14,300 years. However, other scientists are skeptical about how the dating was determined based on previous studies in the area dating back to the 1930s. The Paisley Caves were added to the US National Register of Historical Places in 2014.

Answer: Southern Oregon off the Pacific Coast

Historians do not know where Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo was born. They contend either in Spain or Portugal but aren't entirely sure which. Some have evidence he was born in Portugal and some cities there claim him as a son of their city; a recent discovery in 2015 shows that he may have been from Palma de Micergilio which is now known as Palma del Río in Cordoba, Spain. Whatever his true nationality he was European and a maritime navigator in the 16th century, and the first European to navigate the California coast. He was also on the ship with Hernan Cortes to New Spain (now called Mexico). He ventured to Guatemala and became one of the richest navigators in the "New World" during that time period, off the backs of indigenous peoples where he would split families apart and work the men in the mines until they died. He died on January 3, 1543 trying to rescue his men from their fight with indigenous peoples on Santa Catalina Island (back then called San Salvador by Cabrillo, naming it after his ship.) He apparently had a common-law wife who was an indigenous woman and had several children with her. Who and what happened to them is unknown.

Oregon's coastline runs 362 miles. Oregon's beaches are open freely to the public since 1967 with the passage of The Oregon Beach Bill. Landowners do have some rights to their beaches. The film "The Goonies", directed by Richard Donnor and based off a story by Steven Spielberg, was filmed using not only the coastline of Oregon but also the city of Astoria.

Answer: Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park is listed as the fifth oldest National Park in the United States. It is located in southern Oregon and was established as a National Park in 1902 by Theodore Roosevelt. The credit, though, should go to William Gladstone Steel (1854-1934) who spent 17 years and a considerable fortune petitioning the US Congress in making Crater Lake into a National Park.

The lake itself, being 1,949 feet deep, is constituted as the deepest lake in the United States. The caldera rim's elevation is 7,000 to 8,000 feet.

The National Park covers 286.29 square miles (183,224 acres.)

Answer: Alvord Desert

Alvord Desert has an area of 84 sq miles and is home to many fauna such as wild horses (near the eastern edge of the desert), mules, elk, sheep, and varying types of birds, including plovers. Kitty O'Neil holds a land-speed record there from 1976 in a jet-powered SMI Motivator at the speed of almost 513 mph (825 km/h.) There's a lake in the desert called Borax Lake, which is geothermal with high concentration of borax and arsenic and lead. Despite all that a cyprinid fish called the Borax Lake Chub lives in the lake.

Alvord Desert was named after Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord (1813-1884). He fought in the Second Seminole War, the Mexican-American War, and the US Civil War (Union.) He was also a mathematician and botanist. He was originally from Vermont and died in Washington, DC.

Answer: Rogue River

The name of the river comes from the French in describing the indigenous people in the area. Location of the river is in Curry County, Oregon and empties into the Pacific Ocean. The length of the river is 215 miles. Before Europeans arrived in the area the indigenous peoples in the area lived near and/or in proximity to the river for nearly 8,500 years.

The Rogue River Wars of the mid 1850s culminated in the removal of most to all of the indigenous peoples from the area. In the 1930s and 1940s many Hollywood celebrities vacationed near the river.

The Western stories author Zane Grey bought a cabin near the river, wrote many of his novels there and mentions the river in them. His 1929 novel is called "Rogue River Feud".

Answer: Mount Ashland

Mount Ashland was named after the city of Ashland, Oregon which is located 8.6 miles north of the mountain. The mountain is a part of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. The Siskiyou Mountain is in the northern part of the Klamath Mountains. Mount Ashland is mainly made of granite, diorite and granodiorite. There's a ski area on the mountain featuring 23 trails on 200 acres.

Answer: False

Tillamook is named after the Tillamook people who lived in the area as early as the 15th century. Their population was minimal at only 2,200 which was nearly wiped out with Europeans entering the area in the 18th century bringing disease and war against the Tillamooks.

The Tillamook and the Clatsop tribes (and several others) became the first indigenous tribes to successfully sue the US government for compensation for land stolen from them by the US government. In 1907 they were awarded $23,500 (inflation would be $597,031.29 in 2018.)

Answer: Leonard

The Rev. Archie Mitchell took his pregnant wife and several children from his Sunday School class on a picnic near Leonard Creek. They were from the Christian and Missionary Alliance of Bly, Oregon. The Japanese had sent about 9,000 balloon bombs across the Pacific Ocean toward the United States in the last two years of World War II.

It has been stated that only a fraction of the balloons actually made it to the United States, some as far inland as Michigan. The wife and children are the only casualties in the contiguous US to be killed by enemy action during World War II. Sakyo Adachi, one of the Japanese scientists who helped in the construction and planning of the bombs, visited the site in Oregon and even went as far as writing apology letters to the victims' families for his part in their deaths.

There's a monument and picnic area erected in the area where their deaths took place in what is now Fremont-Winema National Forests.

Answer: Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Designated in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt for the conservation of migratory birds. The area the park is in may have been occupied by indigenous peoples up to 15,000 years ago, perhaps of the Paiute tribe (who are still in the area today.) Bird migration in the area was quite large. However, by the 1870s plume hunters killed many of the waterfowl for their beautiful feathers to make hats. Photographer William L. Finley (1876-1953) used his work to lobby Roosevelt to protect the birds. In 1908, it began at 81,786 acres to today (as of 2016) where it is 187,756 acres. While much of the land in expansion was acquired by willing landowners in sell or trade, some of the land was obtained by force. However, those who sought to sue failed when the Supreme Court sided with the federal government.

The armed occupation happened on January 2, 2016 to February 11, 2016. In the end one was killed from evading police, more than 24 were arrested. Only four received prison sentences, the rest either got probation or were acquitted of all charges. The occupiers wanted the land put in private ownership or state ownership and also wanted Dwight and Steven Hammond released (on an arson case both men were involved in in Oregon.)

Answer: True

According to Wikipedia and other sources, Oregon has over 250 ghost towns. Now, technically not all of them are empty of people. They actually have classifications on what constitutes as a ghost town. Such as "True", "Partial", and "Tourist." (traveloregon.com)