Portland is a city located near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. With a population of 562,690 it is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately two million people live in Portland metropolitan area (MSA), the 23rd most populous in the United States as of July 2006.

Portland was incorporated in 1851 and is the seat of Multnomah County; it extends slightly into Washington and Clackamas Counties as well.

The city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in public transit, supported by Metro, a distinctive regional-government scheme. Portland lies in the Marine West Coast climate region, which is marked by warm summers and rainy but temperate winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and for more than a century Portland has been known as "The City of Roses," with many rose gardens – most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. Portland is also known for its large number of microbreweries, and as the home of the Trail Blazers NBA basketball team. (Wikipedia)
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Although it lies in the Marine west coast climate zone, Portland shows many characteristics of a Mediterranean climate. The city has mild, wet winters, and hot, dry summers. The summer months (June through September) mark the driest period, averaging no more than one inch of rain per month, but it is not uncommon for summer months to receive little or no precipitation.

Downtown Portland lies in the Southwest section between the I-405 freeway loop and the Willamette River, centered around Pioneer Courthouse Square ("Portland's living room"). Downtown and many other parts of inner Portland have compact square blocks (200 ft [60 m] on a side) and narrow streets (64 ft [20 m] wide), a pedestrian-friendly combination.

Many of Portland's recreational, cultural, educational, governmental, business, and retail resources are concentrated downtown, including:

South Park Blocks, Pettygrove and Lovejoy Parks, and Tom McCall Waterfront Park
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Art Museum, and Oregon Historical Society Museum
Portland City Hall, the Portland Building, Pioneer Courthouse, and Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse
Portland State University, with the largest student body of any in Oregon
The Meier & Frank Building (Now Macy's, but not open yet as of 6-7-07), Pioneer Place mall, Wells Fargo Center, and the World Trade Center
Beyond downtown, the Southwest section also includes:

The campuses of Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Lewis & Clark College, and Portland Community College/Sylvania
Neighborhoods like South Portland, South Burlingame, Hillsdale, and Multnomah, with unique residential houses and well defined commercial and retail districts
Alpenrose Dairy in the Hayhurst neighborhood, the grounds of which host track cycling and Little League sports
Washington Park, site of North America's deepest transit station, the Oregon Zoo, Hoyt Arboretum, the International Rose Test Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and many hiking trails.
The south Willamette riverfront along SW Macadam Ave., over 100 acres (0.4 km²) of former industrial land. This area is undergoing redevelopment as a mixed-use, high-density neighborhood, with an anticipated 2,700 residential units and 5,000 high-tech jobs after build-out.

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