Birkenfeld, Oregon

Birkenfeld is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States, in the Nehalem Valley on Oregon Route 202 between Jewell and Mist.

History

German immigrant Anton Birkenfeld settled in the Nehalem Valley in 1886 and founded Birkenfeld in about 1910. Birkenfeld's post office was founded in 1916, bringing much-needed mail service on a more local basis. As of 2010, the Birkenfeld post office has been closed permanently. Although mail can still be addressed directly to the defunct post office, the community has a Clatskanie ZIP code, 97016 and all mail directed toward Birkenfeld is automatically redirected there.

As of the 1990s the community had a store, a café, a tavern, a garage, and a church.

Geography

Located on the northwest of Oregon it has a latitude of above sea level.

Degrees Minutes Seconds:
Latitude: 45-59'26" N
Longitude: 123-20'15" W
Decimal Degrees:
Latitude: 45.9906668
Longitude: -123.3376214

Climate

Birkenfeld has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen ''Csb'') with cool and cloudy winters, and warm, dry summers.
This climate is characterized by having overcast, wet, and changing weather conditions in fall, winter, and spring, as Birkenfeld lies in the direct path of the stormy westerly flow, and mild and dry summers when the Pacific High reaches in northernmost point in mid summer.

According to the Köppen climate classification, Birkenfeld falls within the dry-summer temperate zone (''Csb''). with a USDA Plant Hardiness Zones between 8b and 9a. Other climate systems, such as the Trewartha climate classification, places it within the oceanic zone (''Do''), like much of the Pacific Northwest and Western Europe.

Winters are cool, cloudy, and rainy. The coldest month is December with an average daily high of , although overnight lows usually remain above freezing by a few degrees. Evening temperatures fall to or below freezing 33 nights per year on average, but very rarely to or below .

Annual snowfall in Birkenfeld falls during the December-to-March time frame.

Summers in Birkenfeld are warm, occasionally hot, dry, and sunny, though the sunny warm weather is short lived from mid June through early September. The months of June, July, August and September account for a combined of total rainfall of the of the precipitation that falls throughout the year. The warmest months are July and August, with an average high temperature of . Because of its location to the coast, as well as the protective nature of the Oregon Coast Range to its west, Birkenfeld summers are less susceptible to the moderating influence of the nearby Pacific Ocean. Spring and fall can bring variable weather including warm fronts that send temperatures surging above and cold snaps that plunge daytime temperatures into the 40s °F (4–9 °C). However, lengthy stretches of overcast days beginning in mid fall and continuing into mid spring are most common. Rain often falls as a light drizzle for several consecutive days at a time, contributing to 152 days on average with measurable (≥) precipitation annually.

Demographics

Birkenfeld, Oregon has a population of 840.

The median household income in Birkenfeld, Oregon is $41,938. The median household income for the surrounding county is $47,577 compared to the national median of $50,013. The median age of people living in Birkenfeld is 43.2 years.

References

External links

Historic image of Birkenfeld store
from Salem Public Library
Image of barn in Birkenfeld
from Oregon Scenic Images for Columbia County from Oregon State Archives

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German-American culture in Oregon
Populated places established in 1910
Unincorporated communities in Columbia County, Oregon
1910 establishments in Oregon
Unincorporated communities in Oregon