Geography/Weather

Portland  is located at the northern end of the Willamette Valley, a rich and diverse agricultural region.  The long growing season and mild temperatures of the Willamette Valley are favorable for a diversity of agricultural products.  Due to the high ground water level, irrigation is widely used to raise cannery crops, berries, grass seed, and pastures.

Portland’s city center is situated at 20 feet above sea level, near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers.  Portland lies midway between the lower Coast Range to the west and the high Cascades Range to the east, each about 30 miles distant.

The skyline is dominated by two Cascades Range volcanoes,  Mount St. Helens (8,300 feet high) about 40 miles northeast of Portland, and Mt. Hood (11,238 feet) about 40 miles to the east.  Mount Jefferson defines the southeast edge.  For a quick reference of homes with views of these mountain ranges, please see our View Home page located in the Properties category.

Four Quadrants … Kind of

For a city that’s split by a river, Portland is surprisingly easy to navigate by car, bicycle, or foot.  The exception is traversing the West Hills as many of the streets curve and wind.  The town is laid out in quadrants–north and south are divided by Burnside Street: east and west, by the Willamette River, which features a network of ten breathtaking bridges.  Adresses follow this quadrant approach as the city is broken up into,  NE, NW, SE, SW.  But don’t forget Portland’s  5th quadrant, North Portland.  North Portland is located East of the Willammette River  but West of I-5.  Please see our Neighborhood breakdown for more specifics about these quadrants.

Hills to the West & Flat-lands to the East

Looking east from downtown Portland you immediately notice Mt. Hood, the Cascade Mountain Range, and the flat landscape of the east side across from the Willamette River.

Looking west you notice the hills and some of the houses, those not covered up by the greenery, that dominate the view.  These West Hills homes have tremendous views of the city and surrounding terrain.   Explore the east side more and you will encounter hilly terrain in certain neighborhoods like Mt. Tabor, and Alameda Ridge.  Traveling south into Lake Oswego and West Linn, you also get into the hills.

The flat of the east-side lends to nice walkable terrain.  The city in these areas are built on a grid system and make getting around and navigating uncommon areas rather easy.

Bridge Town

Portland is often called Bridge Town because ten bridges span the Willamette River.  The bridges of Portland are numerous and diverse.  The structures, ranging in age from 27 years to 90 years of age, represent a variety of construction types including vertical lift spans, double-leaf Bascule drawspans, and the longest tied arch span in the world.  Much of the city’s beauty comes from the bridges, the water and the diversity of architecture.

Weather in Portland

Okay let’s be honest, Portland is green because it rains here, but it’s really not as bad as the media and urban legend have made it.  Rain in Portland is more of a mist or drizzle mixed with cloud cover and sun breaks.  The summer months in Portland are beautiful and sometimes hot.  Overall Portland’s climate is mild.  In the winter there is never more that a week or two of snow.  If you like seasons, you’ll love Portland.