The state of Oregon is known in the US as a VERY rainy place. However, most of the rain falls along the Oregon coast and in the Willamette Valley. It's in this valley where the state's population centers are, so most visitors see only that part of the state. The majority of the state's land is actually east of the Cascade Mountains range and is high desert. As you can see from this photo, the mountains keep most of the low, wet clouds off the desert. You can sse this effecgt better by clicking on the photo to see the fullsized version. By the way, the mountain on the right is the same one that's in the Oct. 27, 2006 photo in the archives. Nov. 15, 2006. Jefferson County, OR, south of Madras.