Portland is a city located in the US state of Oregon, near the confluence of theWillamette and Columbia rivers. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States. Portland is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest region, after Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately 2,260,000 people live in the Portland metropolitan area (MSA), the23rd most populous MSA in the United States.
Portland was incorporated in 1851 and is the county seat of Multnomah County. The city extends west into the Cedar Mill neighborhood in Washington County and south towards Lake Oswego in Clackamas County. The city has a commission-based government headed by a mayor and four other commissioners; the city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in light rail. This is supported byMetro, a distinctive regional government. Because of its public transportation networks and efficient land-use planning, Portland has been referred to as one of the mostenvironmentally friendly, or "green", cities in the world.
