[6] The area was originally home to the Yacona tribe, whose history can be traced back at least 3000 years.

[8] It is also home of the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Hatfield Marine Science Center, Nye Beach, Yaquina Head Light, Yaquina Bay Light, Newport Sea Lion Docks, Pacific Maritime Heritage Center, and Rogue Ales.

The city is the western terminus of U.S. Route 20, a cross-country highway that originates in Boston and is the longest road in the United States.

[9] It is located 3,365 miles (5,415.44 km²) west of Boston, Massachusetts on road signs for US-20.

Newport has mild, wet weather throughout the year with the heaviest precipitation falling during the winter months.

There are an average of 187 days a year with precipitation equalling or exceeding 0.01 inches or 0.3 millimetres.

[11] Another top-10 event affecting Newport occurred in December 1964, when a rainstorm caused severe flooding in many parts of the state.

Newport saw a total of about 6 in (15 cm) fall during the month, four times its normal annual snowfall.

In August 2011, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration moved its base for research ships from Seattle to Newport.

The ships join the R/V Oceanus and R/V Elakha research vessels based at the center.

The center conducts research and educational programs associated with the marine environment and serves as a primary field station for the university's College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences.

Live and archived video of city council and committee meetings is available anytime on at https://newportoregon.gov/citygov/comm/cc.asp Newport has several locally based stations: The Lincoln County Leader is published once a week Newport has one sister city:[25]