Photo via Shutterstock.
Photo via Shutterstock.

Apple is growing its footprint in Central Oregon.

The Silicon Valley tech giant paid $3.6 million for nearly 200 acres of land in Prineville, Ore. to expand its data center, the Bend Bulletin reported.

The new land is adjacent to Apple’s existing data center, which opened in 2012 after the company paid $5.6 million for 169 acres and said it would invest at least $250 million in the project.

Prineville is also home to a massive Facebook data center that opened in 2011. The social media company has two 334,000 square-foot buildings and announced plans earlier this month for another, this one coming in at 487,000 square feet.

Data centers have sprung up in the Northwest with great frequency in recent years in part due to the cheap hydroelectric power from Columbia River and — in the case of Prineville — the cool desert air. Apple also inked deals in Prineville that give the company favorable tax breaks.

The centers don’t employ many workers, but in Prineville’s case, they can actually have an impact for jobs given that less than 10,000 people live there.

In addition to Apple and Facebook, Google and Amazon.com have large data centers in Oregon, while companies such as Microsoft, Yahoo and Intuit have located operations near Quincy, Washington.

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