Rogue Valley

<h2 id="history">History</h2>

<p>In the early 19th century the first <a href="/facts/European_American/yWvvpBhT">European Americans</a> began to pass through the valley, inhabited by the <a href="/facts/Shasta_people/WP1KK25T">Shasta</a>, <a href="/facts/Takelma_people/fxzxYn4a">Takelma</a>, and <a href="/facts/Tututni_people/EwPqV0jp">Rogue River Athabaskan</a> tribes of <a href="/facts/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States/lr8Qmd6N">Native Americans</a>. The early <a href="/facts/Fur_trade/VlU2wVoG">fur traders</a> named this river the "River of the Rogues". White settlers began to arrive in the valley after the <a href="/facts/Donation_Land_Act/V4Tv11Lc">Donation Land Act</a>, which allocated 640 acres (2.6 km2) of land to each married couple. Between 1836 and 1856, the valley was the scene of a series of bloody conflicts between <a href="/facts/European_American/yWvvpBhT">European Americans</a> and the Rogue River tribes. In 1850 <a href="/facts/Gold/1znknojp">gold</a> was discovered<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> on the Rogue River; the next year gold was discovered in the nearby mountains. Early mining activity was centered on the lower Rogue River, on Althouse Creek in Josephine County, and near the now-restored town of <a href="/facts/Jacksonville,_Oregon/JglDqVYm">Jacksonville</a>, west of Medford. During the gold rush some $70 million was extracted from the area.
</p>
<h2 id="climate">Climate</h2>

<p>Unlike the rest of Western Oregon, because of the <a href="/facts/Rain_shadow/aRWcxnWo">rain shadow</a> effect resulting from the close range of the Cascades and Siskiyous, the Rogue Valley is relatively dry when compared to the <a href="/facts/Oregon_Coast/GoQQ1HVS">coast</a> and <a href="/facts/Portland,_Oregon/wwBx1Hrv">Portland</a>. Most of the valley has a <a href="/facts/Hot-summer_Mediterranean_climate/gGsJAKE5">hot-summer Mediterranean climate</a>. Winters are chilly and <a href="/facts/Rain/MLqcQEyx">rainy</a>, but relatively dry and slightly colder when compared to the rest of western Oregon, with frequent <a href="/facts/Fog/mrIdyIc7">fog</a>, and occasional <a href="/facts/Snow/HEFKcgIB">snow</a>. Summers are hot and sunny, but dry, with low <a href="/facts/Humidity/Nwb28VlT">humidity</a>. Temperatures surpass 100 °F or 37.8 °C, on an average of 10–15 days during the summer. Because of the combination of heat and dry air, <a href="/facts/Wildfire/LU3797A0">wildfires</a> are a problem during the summer, and frequently, smoke will fill up the valley for weeks, reducing visibility and air quality. On average, the first frost occurs October 22, and the last on May 6. The Rogue Valley is in <a href="/facts/USDA_plant_hardiness_zone/zhPbV4Qb">USDA plant hardiness zones</a> 7–9.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Sub-zero temperatures are extremely rare in the valley; the <a href="/facts/Rogue_Valley_International-Medford_Airport/GqWm52MU">Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport</a> has not recorded such extreme cold weather since December 21, 1990, when the temperature dropped to −2 °F or −18.9 °C.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a>
</p><p>Due to the valley's generally mild climate, it is used as a region to grow <a href="/facts/Pear/pRAKLrdK">pears</a>, and there are multiple <a href="/facts/Vineyard/HCEJJcA2">vineyards</a>. Medford has, on average, 175 sunny days per year, compared to 80 on average for the <a href="/facts/Willamette_Valley/pU7cTNwN">Willamette Valley</a>, and 65 on average for the coast.
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<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rogue River Valley (Oregon).

<ul><li><a href="/facts/Jefferson_(Pacific_state)/9NA85Axb">Jefferson (Pacific state)</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Roxy_Ann_Peak/sVmpTm8o">Roxy Ann Peak</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Upper_and_Lower_Table_Rock/4fBlKB3z">Upper and Lower Table Rock</a></li>
<li><i><a href="/facts/Psathyrella_aquatica/doKWsstF">Psathyrella aquatica</a></i></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>"Rich Gulch". Southern Oregon History Revised. Retrieved March 6, 2016. <a href="http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/gold%20discovery.html" target="_blank">http://id.mind.net/~truwe/tina/gold%20discovery.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:2"><p>The Associated Press. "Know your Hardiness Zone Map". MailTribune.com. <a href="http://m.mailtribune.com/article/20080912/LIFE/809120320" target="_blank">http://m.mailtribune.com/article/20080912/LIFE/809120320</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
<li id="fn:3"><p>"Weather History for Medford, OR – Weather Underground". <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KMFR/1990/12/21/DailyHistory.html" target="_blank">http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KMFR/1990/12/21/DailyHistory.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Rogue Valley open-in-new

Rogue Valley