Did You Know? The Pacific Northwest’s old growth forests produce three times the biomass of tropical rain forests. Olympic National Park, created in part to protect elk, was nearly named Elk National Park. Two dams on the Elwha River will be removed in a $300 million ecosystem restoration project.
Did You Know? The fried clam was invented in Essex in 1916. Gloucester is America's oldest working seaport (1623). Rockport’s Paper House was created from newspapers, originally as the builder’s hobby. More than 4,000 schooners were constructed in Essex. Manchester-by-the-Sea added words to its name to distinguish itself from
Did You Know? The 36,000 to 38,000 Amish residents in and around Holmes County comprise the world’s largest Amish community. Every mile of state and federal highway in Holmes County has been designated an Ohio Scenic Byway. Sugarcreek is home to the world’s largest cuckoo clock, 23-plus feet wide, 24
Did You Know? Redding's Sundial Bridge is the world’s largest sundial and tells time correctly only on June 21. The largest population (500-plus) of bald eagles in the lower 48 winters at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. In 1941, northern Californians and southern Oregonians tried to create a U.S. state
Did You Know? The young George Washington surveyed part of what is now the valley’s Route 11. Forebears of more than 43 million Americans migrated along the valley’s Wilderness Road. During the Civil War, the city of Winchester changed hands more than 70 times. President Woodrow Wilson was born in
Did You Know? The Rockies harbor the headwaters of the Arkansas, Colorado, Platte and Rio Grande rivers. Fifty-four of Colorado’s mountain peaks surpass 14,000 feet; they are the Fourteeners. Royal Gorge Bridge, 1,053 feet above the Arkansas River, is America's highest suspension bridge. Thanks to the Rockies, Colorado has the highest
Did You Know? Part of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969) was filmed in Zion National Park. Zion’s Virgin River carries a million tons of sediment out of the park and to the Colorado River yearly. Steep cliffs seen today were formed from sand deposited 150 million years ago.
Did You Know? The Army protected Yellowstone from poachers, developers — and tourists — from 1886 to 1918. The park has more geysers and hot springs than the rest of the world combined. No one can fish from the park’s Fishing Bridge on the Yellowstone River. Until 1883, hunting was
Did You Know? More than 2,000 land-to-water vehicles known as Ducks, now used for sightseeing, were used in the Normandy Landing (1944). There are more than 16 million gallons of water in the Dells waterparks. America’s largest outdoor waterpark is Noah’s Ark Waterpark (70 acres, 5 million gallons of water,
Did You Know ... ? North Willamette Valley is on the same latitude as France’s Bordeaux wine region. The wine industry generates more than $3.35 billion annually in economic activity in Oregon. Harry & David, in Medford, is the world’s largest gourmet mail-order company. Novelist Zane Grey wrote “Rogue River Feud”
