Marc Adamus/The Register-Guard via AP, File

by Jamie Hale | The Oregonian, OregonLive

When I was young, my family packed up and moved from my native Oregon, far away to the suburbs of Philadelphia. I understood it was for a good reason – my mom's new job – but still, my soul ached for the Pacific Northwest.



I can remember riding through the farmland and strip malls of southeast Pennsylvania, closing my eyes and picturing the sights of Oregon: the Pacific Ocean lapping Haystack Rock, Mount Hood looming over the Portland skyline, the snowy forests of the Cascades. They connected me to this place, even from afar, holding rapt my awe and imagination.



For those of us here, and those who are afar, those images are a vital force that roots us to our home. In some places, people are rooted by sights of skyscrapers and city streets – in the Pacific Northwest we're rooted by sights of nature's majesty.



While sitting down to make a list of Oregon's most iconic sights seemed daunting, to be honest, it wasn't hard. These are places we all know and love, landmarks that define the mountains, forests, deserts and beaches of our great state. Some of these places are manmade – most are not. All carry a weight that holds us here, even if we're thousands of miles away, even if they're all that we have left to hold onto.

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What's a landmark?

For the purpose of this list, I’m defining “landmark” as any natural or manmade feature that helps define a place in Oregon. If it’s worthy of a postcard, it’s a landmark.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

20. Steens Mountain

The apex of southeast Oregon, Steens Mountain­­­­ is not volcanic but a fault-block mountain, formed by shifting tectonic plates. No particular peak makes it as recognizable as its Cascade brethren, but you'd be hard-pressed to miss it rising out of the arid high desert of eastern Oregon.

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Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian

19. Oregon State Capitol

The Oregon State Capitol building isn’t the most phenomenal feat of architecture in Oregon, but it’s a rare departure from the look of most other capitols in the U.S. Built in 1938 to replace the original statehouse – which burned to the ground three years earlier – the design represents a modern, stripped-down take on classically-inspired capitol buildings, topped with a bronze statue of an axe-wielding pioneer. Talk about iconic.

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Mark Graves/The Oregonian

18. Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Like it or not, the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has become one of Oregon’s most iconic landmarks of late, all thanks to the band of armed militants who occupied the federal headquarters there in 2016. The image of the occupied lookout tower at Malheur has become synonymous with a certain brand of anti-government protest, overshadowing the refuge’s long-held role as a sanctuary for migrating waterfowl.

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Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

17. Alvord Desert

The Alvord Desert is unlike anywhere else in Oregon. A large playa in the southeast corner of the state, the desert is wide open and expansive, bordered by Steens Mountain to the northwest. About eight miles wide and 70 miles long, the playa has an otherworldly appearance, and is known for its stark, haunting quiet and the natural hot springs nearby.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

16. Sea Lion Caves

It's been built up and turned into a tourist attraction for the last 75 years, but there's no denying the grandeur of the Sea Lion Caves. The towering sea cave just north of Florence is home to a Steller sea lion rookery, which generally stays inside the cave in the fall and winter, heading out to the rocky shores come spring and summer.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

15. Wallowa Lake Tramway

The Wallowa Mountains are truly one of the most spectacular wonders of Oregon, but it's the Wallowa Lake Tramway that stands out as a recognizable landmark on its slopes. Found in the far northeastern corner of Oregon, at the southern end of Wallowa Lake, the Swiss-made gondola ascends 3,700 feet to the top of Mount Howard, offering spectacular views of the Wallowas and Wallowa Lake as you go.

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Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

14. Oregon Caves

The Oregon Caves are officially a national monument and preserve, managed by the National Park Service in southern Oregon. Sometimes called the "marble halls of Oregon," the caves can be seen only on ranger-led tours, available March through November. The cave was formed by rainwater from the ancient forest that lies above it, which created fascinating formations within its depths.

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Courtesy of Foster Church

13. Wreck of the Peter Iredale

Without a doubt the most iconic shipwreck on the Oregon coast, the wreck of the Peter Iredale is found just beyond a parking area at Fort Stevens State Park. Only the steel hull remains of the 275-foot sailing ship, which ran aground in 1906. The ship made it to the mouth of the Columbia River through a shroud of fog, but was turned around by a strong wind while waiting for a pilot, hitting Clatsop Beach so hard that three of its four masts snapped on impact.

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Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

12. Vista House

Considered the crown jewel of the Columbia River Gorge, the Vista House is an instantly-recognizable landmark atop Crown Point. It was built in 1917 along the Columbia River Highway, and today is a popular stop for tourists and cyclists heading east into the gorge. One of the best views of the Vista House and the gorge is actually from the nearby Portland Women's Forum viewpoint.

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Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

11. Washington Park

Southwest Portland's Washington Park has been developed over the years into a sort of natural and manmade wonderland. Inside its 160 acres you'll find the International Rose Test Garden, Portland Japanese Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, Oregon Zoo, Portland Children's Museum and World Forestry Center, as well as memorials, fountains, statues, and a sprawling trail network that leads to Pittock Mansion, Forest Park, and the expansive Marquam Trail.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

10. Hells Canyon

The deepest river gorge in North America, Hells Canyon is 10 miles wide and a whopping 7,913 feet deep – nearly 2,000 feet more than the Grand Canyon. While technically a system of canyons that rises above the Snake River, Imnaha River and several creeks, it’s collectively considered a national recreation area, protecting more than 200,000 acres of rugged wilderness.

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Terry Richard/The Oregonian

9. Oregon Dunes

Popular among OHV enthusiasts and hikers alike – and the inspiration for Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel "Dune" – the Oregon Dunes are a massive, unmistakable landmark on the coast, running from Florence down to Coos Bay. Since 1972, the area has been protected as the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

8. Willamette Falls

By volume, Willamette Falls is the biggest waterfall in Oregon and one of the biggest in the U.S. For generations, it was a prominent tribal fishing spot on the Willamette River, and by the middle of the 19th century, a hydroelectric plant built at the falls powered the earliest mills in the region. Despite all the development, it's still a natural sight to behold.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

7. Three Sisters

Mount Hood is your iconic peak in Portland, but the Three Sisters are your mountains in Bend. The central Oregon city lives for the profiles of the three neighboring peaks in Oregon’s central Cascades – once named Faith, Hope and Charity by members of a Methodist mission, according to local lore. While the mountains are all close in proximity, they actually bear little geological resemblance.

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Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

6. Painted Hills

A stunning geological formation, the Painted Hills are just one feature of the John Day Fossil Beds, a national monument in the high desert of central Oregon. Colorful deposits of sediment paint the arid landscape with bands of red, gray, black and brown – a majestic sight like no other in the Pacific Northwest.

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Jamie Francis/The Oregonian

5. Smith Rock

Created out of ash and debris from nearby volcanoes, forged by lava flows and carved out by the Crooked River, Smith Rock has undergone a lot of change in the last 30 million years, and today is honored and revered as one of Oregon’s most popular state parks. Climbers proliferate on the towering rock walls, while hikers and mountain bikers can enjoy trips to viewpoints through the deep river canyons.

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AP Photo/Don Ryan, File

4. Haystack Rock

How iconic is Haystack Rock? Iconic enough to steal the thunder from two other Haystack Rocks on the coast – one at Cape Kiwanda and another in Bandon – and instantly recognizable to any fans of classic family film "The Goonies," which featured the rock prominently. It's location in Cannon Beach, one of the most popular tourist destinations on the coast, helps too. Instantly recognizable and with generations of admirers, Haystack Rock is inarguably the single most iconic landmark on the Oregon coast.

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Ian Malkasian/The Oregonian

3. Crater Lake

Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S., and easily one of Oregon’s most recognizable landmarks. The blue-hued lake rests high above sea level in the caldera created by the collapsed peak of Mount Mazama, which erupted violently 7,700 years ago. Oregon’s only full-fledged national Park, Crater Lake saw more than 750,000 visitors in 2016.

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Randy L. Rasmussen/The Oregonian

2. Multnomah Falls

Oregon’s tallest waterfall, and the most popular natural attraction in the state, Multnomah Falls is often seen as the visual representation of the Columbia River Gorge. The high falls is the perfect pit stop driving into Portland from the east, and one of the crown jewels of the gorge. This year the falls and its lodge were threatened by the Eagle Creek Fire, but in the end our beloved landmark was spared.

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Jamie Hale/The Oregonian

1. Mount Hood

While it’s hard to play favorites with Cascade peaks, there’s just no denying Mount Hood – née Wy’east – the title of most iconic in Oregon. It’s the tallest mountain in the state, prominently visible from viewpoints around the Pacific Northwest. Many of us who live here can draw the mountain’s profile from memory, and have a least a few dozen photos from some beautiful sunset bathing it in golden light. It’s a home for backpackers, skiers, mountaineers and casual vacationers alike, who gather at popular destinations on its slopes, filling resorts in winter and campgrounds come summer. No landmark represents our state better, and with such striking beauty.

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NORTHWEST TRAVEL GUIDES

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20 reasons to love Newport: Newport is the funky capital of the Oregon coast – here's what to see, do, eat and drink while you're there.

Portland's best holiday lights: Portland is a veritable wonderland during the holiday season. Here are the 10 best light displays around.

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--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB

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