Coos Bay

City in Coos County, southwestern Oregon, USA, on Coos Bay, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, 268 km/167 mi south-southwest of Portland; population (2000) 15,400. A major lumber-shipping port known particularly for its myrtlewood, which is unique to this area, it is the largest city on the Oregon coast. Seafood, dairy products, and poultry are also processed here, and tourism is a growing industry.

Settled in 1854, it was called Marshfield until 1944. Once a shipbuilding centre, it became an important lumber-producing region and then a lumber-exporting city. High local unemployment resulted from lumber plant closings in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Southwestern Oregon Community College (1961) is here. Golden and Silver Falls State Park is 39 km/24 mi to the northeast, the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is just to the north, and there are a number of state parks on the nearby shore. The Oregon Coast Music Festival is an annual event.