UFO Sightings in Oregon - - a short study

Of all 50 US states, Oregon ranks 14th for UFO sightings in the *U* Database, 190 listings as of March 2006.

Sightings eras are shown by colors: 101 events from the 1940s through 1959 show as Blue dots. only 29 from 1960 through 1974 (Violet) and 60 more from 1975 to the present are in Green.

The earliest one listed is poor. On 12 August 1946 near Grants Pass, red and green flares were seen maneuvering and swinging between mountain tops for 30 minutes.

The geographical center of all Oregon sightings is 122:30W - 44:31N, a remote mountainous area East of Corvallis.

Oregon was heavily involved in the surprise 1947 sightings wave (see graph below).

See a similar map for all the Northwest States here: UFO: Northwest States.

<= Daily Histogram of Oregon Sightings.

Here sightings for all years are combined, then given as daily counts to show seasonal effects.

The three busiest days taken separately were all in July of 1947, with 9 events on the 4th of July, and 3 each on the first and the 13th.

Unlike many states, Oregon sightings tended to happen during daylight hours, at least up to 1960. After that, the usual pattern with more night-time sightings resumed.

See similar studies for California Ohio Texas Pennsylvania Florida New York Mass.+CT+RI New Mexico Washington Michigan Illinois & Indiana Missouri Carolinas Arizona Utah & Nevada Georgia & Alabama Montana & Idaho

<= 50-Year Graph of Oregon UFO Sightings.

Much like Washington, Oregon was hit by the surprised wave of 1947, but went into a long slow drought after that. The upturn in 1995 is mostly an artifact of reports to the National UFO Reporting Center in Seattle, WA. NUFORC

The busiest years for Oregon are as follows:

1947 (46) 1949 (7) 1950 (8)
1952 (8) 1956 (7) 1957 (6)
1995 (19) 1996 (6)

Years not shown have 5 or fewer listings.

The busiest month for Sightings in Oregon was July with 48 records, nearly four times the average 12 or 13 per month for the other 11 months.

The busiest weekdays are Tuesday (32) and Friday (32) versus a mean average of 21 per day for the rest of the week, where weekdays are known.

Return to : *U* UFO Home States UFO Studies Menu World UFO Maps Regional UFO Maps
Decades USA Maps: Pre-1940 1940s 1950s 1970s 1980s 1990s Thematic UFO Maps
Yearly USA maps for : 1947 1950 1952 1957 1973 UFO Statistics Menu [ Site Map ]
Southwest States Northwest States Northern Plains South-Central Southeast States Northeast States