Salem is located in the north-central part of the Willamette River Valley basin. It straddles the east and west banks of the Willamette River. Residents on the east side of the river reside in Marion County, of which Salem is the county seat, while those on the west side of the Willamette River reside in Polk County. West Salem, a separate city incorporated in 1913, was annexed to Salem in 1949. Salem is the capital of Oregon.

At an elevation of approximately 150 feet above sea level, Salem rests in a natural basin that is formed by the westward Eola Hills rising between 900 and 1,000 feet, the Waldo Hills to the east between 500 and 600 feet, and to the south the volcanic Salem Hills rising between 600 and 700 feet.
The Salem area has soils ranging from "first rate clay loam to first rate sand or alluvial, stony and gravelly," according to an 1851 report of the Surveyor General. This report described the landscape as "rolling" or "gently rolling." White oak and broad-leaf maple were the predominant trees with some scattering of Douglas fir; grass and short ferns covered the ground in October when the survey was made. Surveyors noted that several streams emptied into the Willamette River. 

Other historic writings also describe the Salem area, including those of Joel Palmer, an early settler, mill owner and Indian agent. Palmer made the following observations in his Journal of Travels over the Rocky Mountains, 1845-46:
"The Willamette Valley, including the first plateaus of the Cascade and Coast ranges, may be said to average a width of about sixty, and a length of about two hundred miles. It is beautifully diversified with timber and prairie." 

Lieutenant Charles Wilkes, writing of his Oregon expedition in 1841 in Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition said:
"The prairies are at least one-third greater in extent than the forest; they were again seen carpeted with the most luxuriant growth of flowers, of the richest tints of red, yellow and blue, extending in places a distance of fifteen to twenty miles." 

Bibliography:
Compiled by Jane Kirby with information from the Historic Context Statement, Salem, Oregon. Prepared for the City of Salem, Oregon by Marianne Kadas, Marianne Kadas Consulting, August 1992.