Sun rays stream into the trees in the Willamette Valley in the wine country of Oregon. From Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia: The Willamette Valley (/wɨˈlaemɨt/) is a 150-mile (240 km) long valley located entirely within the state of Oregon in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The valley forms the cultural and political heart of Oregon and is home to approximately 70 percent of its population including Portland, its largest city, as well as Salem, the state capital. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley, which is surrounded by mountains on three sides - the Oregon Coast Range to the west, the Cascade Range to the east, and the Calapooya Mountains to the south. The valley's numerous waterways, particularly the Willamette River, remain vitally important to the economy of Oregon, as they continuously deposit highly fertile alluvial soils across its broad, flat plain. A massively productive agricultural area, the valley was widely publicized in the 1820s as a 'promised land of flowing milk and honey'. It became the destination of choice for the oxen-drawn wagon trains of emigrants who made the perilous journey along the Oregon Trail in the 1840s-1880s.