THE state of Oregon can be easily overlooked due to other states in the United States: New York, California, Florida, Nevada, Illinois and many others. Even though there are people who have never been to the Empire State Building, the White House or the Golden Gate Bridge, they would at least realize what and where those places are. But what about the Seven Wonders of Oregon? Most people around the world likely have not heard of the snowy peak of Mount Hood, the grandeur of the Columbia River Gorge, the exposed earth of the Painted Hills, Smith Rock’s towers of volcanic ash, the alpine peaks of the Wallowas, the deepest lake in America called Crater Lake, and the Oregon coast. These Seven Wonders of Oregon are some of Mother Nature’s best features.

Mount Hood is a stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc of northern Oregon. It is located about 80 kilometers east-southeast of Portland on the border between Clackamas and Hood River counties. Mount Hood is approximately 3,429 meters in height and it is Oregon’s highest mountain, but it is also one of the loftiest mountains in the United States based on its prominence (it is ranked 28 out of 200 in the most prominent summits of the United States). Mount Hood can be seen from miles and miles away. It is crowned by eleven glaciers, one for every thousand feet it rises above sea level. It is also home to a total of six ski areas. There are also beautiful alpine lakes with names like Lost, Trillium and Mirror that offer their own unique views of the mountain.

Just a short drive from Portland lies an amazing view from Crown Point where the mighty Columbia nestled in the Gorge unfurls before visitors’ eyes. The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River. Up to 1,200 meters deep, the canyon stretches for over 130 kilometers as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the state of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south. Multnomah Falls and dozens of other falls like Horsetail, Ponytail and Bridal Veil line the way along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Visitors will have to go over a log mountain and wade through water to get to Lower Oneonta Falls. In the town of Hood River, there is hand-scooped ice cream, hand-crafted beer, windsurfing, kiteboarding and parasailing. There is also the view from Rowena Crest, the loop up and around Dog Mountain and browsing the shelves of the oldest bookstore in all of Oregon in The Dalles. Due to its unique geography, the Columbia River Gorge boasts a world of wine in just a 65-kilometer stretch. There are pinot noir and chardonnay in the cool hills at the west end, while tempranillo and syrah thrive in the drier, sunnier east. The US Congress recognized the unique splendor of the Gorge and designated it a National Scenic Area, the largest in the United States.

Painted Hills is located 14 kilometers northwest of Mitchell and 121 kilometers east of Bend. It totals 1,267 hectares and it is one of the three units of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Painted Hills is named after the colorful layers of its hills corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain. Visitors can see millions of years of history revealed in the layers of mountains of earth. An abundance of fossil remains of early horses, camels and rhinoceroses makes the area particularly important to vertebrate paleontologists.

At Smith Rock State Park, towers of volcanic ash rise like the spires of a cathedral out of the sage and dust of the high desert at the birthplace of American sport climbing. Smith Rock is located in central Oregon’s high desert near the communities of Redmond and Terrebonne. Its sheer cliffs of tuff and basalt are ideal for rock climbing of all difficulty levels. Smith Rock is generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing, and is host to cutting-edge climbing routes. There is sport climbing, traditional climbing, multi-pitch climbing and bouldering. Hikers will want to explore the obsidian lava flows at Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument, where astronauts trained to walk on the moon. Mountain bikers can try out Phil’s Trail. There are also opportunities to spot golden eagles, prairie falcons, river otters and beavers in the park for those who do not come for a climb, hike or bike ride.

In the Wallowas, visitors can look down from an alpine summit and see the high desert of Indian country roll out in front of them in one direction, and then turn around and see past Hells Canyon into the next state. Visitors can hike or ride a horse to the summit, but the quickest way to the summit is the gondola that rises 1,128 meters from Wallowa Lake Village to the peak of Mount Howard. There are cabins, camping sites and mini-golf around Wallowa Lake. Towns like Joseph and Enterprise offer art galleries and places for shopping, eating and drinking that include handcrafted beer, craft distilleries and chocolatiers. The Oregon Trail is bordered by the Snake River, working ranches, the remote Eagle Cap Wilderness and the wide open spaces that eastern Oregon is known for.

Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in south-central Oregon. The lake partly fills a nearly 655-meter-deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years ago by the collapse of Mount Mazama. With a depth of 592 meters, the lake is the deepest in the United States. Surrounded by cliffs of almost 610 meters in height and boasting a picturesque island of a violent volcanic past, Crater Lake is also home to hikes in the old-growth forest and cross-country ski trips in winter. Hiking, backpacking, camping, picnicking and sightseeing are popular pursuits within Crater Lake National Park. Boating and scenic driving around Rim Drive can be enjoyed by visitors during the summer. From high atop the rim of Crater Lake, visitors can see what a wonder it is. A hike down the water reveals new wonders. The water is so blue and deep that it is no surprise it is one of the deepest lakes on Earth.

Oregon’s Pacific coastline stretches  about 584 kilometers from the Columbia River in the north to California in the south. All 584 kilometers are free and open to visitors. Visitors can enjoy sand dunes down south,  investigate tide pools, hike up cliffs or down through ancient old-growth forests to discover hidden surf locations or see whales and dolphins from beaches or docks.

For more information about Portland and Oregon, please visit the websites www.travelportland.com and traveloregon.com, and you can also follow the Travel Oregon weibo account: weibo.com/traveloregonchina.