Rogue River Valley, Oregon - Southern Oregon is divided into three main river basins; the Umpqua River, the Rogue River, and the Klamath Basin. The Umpqua meets the Pacific at Reedsport, the Rogue mouth is near Gold Beach, and the Klamath empties at the Redwoods National Park in Northern California. All three rivers have their headwaters in the Cascade Mountains on the slopes of Crater Lake, Oregon's only national park. The Rogue River is a designated National Scenic River, and formed much of the backdrop for the Meryl Streep movie "The River Wild." Jet boat trips and white water rafting are very popular.

Rogue River Valley

Rogue River Valley, Oregon - A beautiful place to visit, a wonderful place to live. Come and find a place to call your own. Southern Oregon is a great place to own a home and grow your family.

Rogue River Valley
Search Travel Guides
Oregon Maps
Articles
Featured Article
Wild and Scenic
Introduction
Job Growth
Retirees and Health
Trade and Services
Stability and Growth
Page 2
Author

Rogue River Valley - Oregon Travel Guide

Trade and Services are Important

The Rogue Valley of Today and Tomorrow
by Ainoura Oussenbec
Oregon Employment Department

The two counties have one more characteristic in common - the pronounced importance of the trade and services sectors in the economic "mix." The area, especially Jackson County, serves as a retail "hub" for several neighboring counties. People from the South Oregon Coast, Douglas County, Northern California, and the Klamath area regularly come to the Rogue Valley to do their shopping and enjoy a variety of cultural events usually found in much more populated areas.
It is no surprise that, according to the Economic Census, 1997 per capita retail sales figures in Jackson County were almost five times that in the Portland area; the county had almost five times as many retail establishments per thousand residents as in Portland and employed four times as many employees per thousand residents.
It is not possible to single out one retail industry that may be considered as the driving force of the busy commercial activities in the area. Even though the internationally known Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, the Britt Music Festival in Jacksonville and other events and amenities serve as a major draw to attract visitors and business to the area, still the best way of describing the valley's thriving trade and tourist sectors would be using the "cluster" concept. For, in reality, there is a whole cluster of related and not-so-related industries, which together have built this region as one of the most popular places to stop by or spend a few days along the western coastal area.

Stability and Growth Expected

Rogue River Valley, Oregon - The Siskiyou Mountains stretch between the Cascade Mountains and the Coast Range at the California border. The entire area is more vertical than most other parts of the state, which leads to numerous waterfalls, lots of whitewater rapids, and some spectacular scenery. Rogue River Valley is outside the main population centers of the state and the area has a very rural flavor. Major industries are tourism, wood products and agriculture. The climate is generally milder and more Mediterranean than North Western Oregon. Average rainfallis about 20 % lower and the temperatures are a bit higher.