History

Portland started as a spot known as "The Clearing", which was on the banks of the Willamette River about halfway between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton saw great commercial potential for this land; his only problem was that he lacked the funds required to file a land claim. So, he struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy: for 25¢, Overton would share his claim to the 640-acre (2.6 km²) site.
Bored with clearing trees and building roads, Overton sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove. When it came time to name their new town, Pettygrove and Lovejoy each wanted to name it after his home town. They settled the argument with a coin toss. Pettygrove won, and named it after Portland, Maine; had Lovejoy won, he intended to name it after Boston, Massachusetts.
Portland existed in the shadow of Oregon City, the territorial capital 12 miles (19 km) upstream on the falls of the Willamette. However, Portland was located at the Willamette's head of navigation, giving it a key advantage over its older peer. It also triumphed over early rivals like Milwaukie and Sellwood. By 1850 Portland had approximately 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, called the Weekly Oregonian.

Portland was the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when direct railroad access between the deepwater harbor in Seattle and points east by way of Stampede Pass were built. Goods could then be transported from the northwest coast to inland cities without needing to navigate the dangerous bar at the mouth of the Columbia River.
Like other west coast ports, Portland was home to frequent acts of shanghaiing. Tunnels under city blocks stretching for blocks from the Willamette River, although built for legitimate business reasons, became known as shanghai tunnels because of their purported use in such kidnappings. Portland was unique because trap doors (known as "deadfalls") were used to drop the unsuspecting victims into the tunnels where they were held in cells until the ship was ready to set sail. From 1850 to 1941, Portland was known as the "Unheavenly City" due to this shocking practice. A variety of tours of these tunnels are now given.
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Geography and climate

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 376.5 km² (145.4 mi²). 347.9 km² (134.3 mi²) of it is land and 28.6 km² (11.1 mi²), or 7.6%, is water.
The Portland metropolitan area is located within the Willamette Valley, which follows the Willamette River and the I-5 Corridor. The valley consists of suburban municipalities sprawled around patches of farmland farther south. The further north you travel, towards Portland, the thicker the population density becomes. The vast majority of Oregon's population lives in the Willamette Valley. Interstate 5 bisects the valley and a significant number of commuters travel the I-5 Corridor daily.
Portland lies on top of an extinct Plio-Pleistocene volcanic field. The Boring Lava Field includes at least 32 cinder cones and small shield volcanoes lying within a radius of 13 miles of Kelly Butte, which is approximately 4 miles east of downtown Portland.
Portland's climate is temperate and seasonal. The average rainfall is approximately 40 to 45 inches per year, but is spread out as Portland averages 155 days of precipitation a year. Although it lies in the Marine West Coast climate zone, Portland shows many characteristics of a Mediterranean climate. The city relatively has mild wet winters, and hot dry summers. The summer months (June through September) mark the driest period averaging around 1 inch per month, but it is not uncommon for summer months to receive little or no precipitation at all. November through April is the rainy season, with 80% of the total annual rainfall occurring in those months. Winter low temperatures hover around 35 °F (2 °C), and summer highs average around 80 °F (26 °C), however summer heat waves with temperatures exceeding 100 °F (38 °C) can happen. But for the most part, the Portland summers are very pleasant with abundant sunshine. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Portland was −3 °F (−19 °C), set on February 2, 1950. Portland recorded a record high 107 °F (41 °C) numerous times, and can reach the 100 °F (38 °C) mark in months from May through September.