Cooper Mountain (West Virginia)

Cooper Mountain runs southwest northeast through Hampshire County in West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, rising to its greatest elevation of 2,028 feet (618 m) above sea-level at Bens Knob. The mountain's other knob, Butchers Knob, has an elevation of 1,783 feet (543 m). Cooper Mountain is flanked to its west by North River Mountain and to its east by Parks Valley and Dillons Run. The Northwestern Turnpike (U.S. Route 50) crosses Cooper Mountain at Loom between Hanging Rock and Capon Bridge. Tourists and travelers on U.S. Route 50 pull off at the Cooper Mountain overlook for a spectacular view over Parks Valley, Capon Bridge, and the ridges of Virginia.

Historical sites

Oregon

Oregon (ⁱ/ˈɔːrᵻɡən/ AWR-ə-gən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Washington, on the south by California, on the east by Idaho, and on the southeast by Nevada. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary, and the Snake River delineates much of the eastern boundary. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. It is one of only three states of the contiguous United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean, and the proximity to the ocean heavily influences the state's mild winter climate, despite the latitude.

Oregon was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before Western traders, explorers, and settlers arrived. An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843, the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. Today, at 98,000 square miles, Oregon is the ninth largest and, with a population of 4 million, 26th most populous U.S. state. The capital of Oregon is Salem, the second most populous of its cities, with 160,614 residents (2013 estimate). With 609,456 residents (2013 estimate), Portland is the largest city in Oregon and ranks 29th in the U.S. Its metro population of 2,314,554 (2013 estimate) is 24th. The Willamette Valley in western Oregon is the state's most densely populated area, home to eight of the ten most populous cities.

Cooper Mountain Nature Park

Cooper Mountain Nature Park is a 231 acres (93 ha) nature park in the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 2009, the park is owned and operated by Metro, the regional government in the Oregon portion of the metro area. The park is named after Cooper Mountain, the primary geological feature in the area near Beaverton. Maintained by the regional Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District, the natural area has 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of hiking trails. It is one of THPRD's two nature parks, along with the Tualatin Hills Nature Park.

History

Portland area voters approved a bond measure in 1995 that provided funding for the purchase of greenspaces by Metro. Metro covers most of Washington, Clackamas, and Multnomah counties in the northwest part of Oregon. Metro began buying land on Cooper Mountain near Aloha and Beaverton in 1997, and spent $6.58 million in total on land. Voters approved an additional bond in 2006, and Metro spent almost $2 million from that bond on facilities at Cooper Mountain. Metro also received a $500,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Parks and Recreation and a $40,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for development of the park. To prepare the area for the park and help restore the native habitat, the area was burned in 2008. Cooper Mountain Nature Park opened on June 27, 2009. Through 2009, volunteers and Metro planted approximately 100,000 shrubs and trees at the park.

Nature park

A nature park is a landscape protected by means of long-term planning, use and agriculture. These valuable landscapes are preserved in their present state and promoted for tourism purposes.

In most countries nature parks are subject to legally regulated protection, which is part of their conservation laws.

A nature park is not the same as a national park, which is defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its World Commission on Protected Areas as a category II type of protected area. Nor is it the same as a nature reserve which may fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of legal protection afforded, but which is more strictly protected than a nature park. However some nature parks have later been turned into national parks.

International nature parks

The first international nature park in Europe, the present-day Pieniny National Park was founded jointly by Poland and Slovakia in 1932.

Mountain

A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. Mountains are formed through tectonic forces or volcanism. These forces can locally raise the surface of the earth. Mountains erode slowly through the action of rivers, weather conditions, and glaciers. A few mountains are isolated summits, but most occur in huge mountain ranges.

High elevations on mountains produce colder climates than at sea level. These colder climates strongly affect the ecosystems of mountains: different elevations have different plants and animals. Because of the less hospitable terrain and climate, mountains tend to be used less for agriculture and more for resource extraction and recreation, such as mountain climbing.

The highest mountain on Earth is Mount Everest in the Himalayas of Asia, whose summit is 8,850 m (29,035 ft) above mean sea level. The highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System is Olympus Mons on Mars at 21,171 m (69,459 ft).