The
Klamath Mountains, which include the
Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinty Alps, Salmon, and northern
Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated
mountain rangeA mountain range is a chain of mountains bordered by highlands or separated from other mountains by passes or valleys. Individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geology, though they often do; they may be a mix of different orogeny, for example volcanoes,...
in northwest
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by land area, after Alaska and Texas; it is also the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and southwest
OregonOregon ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D...
. The highest peaks are
Mount EddyMount Eddy is the highest summit in Trinity Alps and the Klamath Mountains. This California mountain rises to an elevation of west of Mount Shasta City and the massive Mount Shasta volcano. The summit is the highest point in Trinity County and the ninth most prominent peak in California...
(9025 ft / 2750 m) in
Siskiyou County, CaliforniaSiskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. Yreka is the county seat...
, Thompson Peak (9002 ft / 2744 m) in
Trinity County, CaliforniaTrinity County is a large, rugged and mountainous, heavily forested county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California, along the Trinity River and within the Salmon/Klamath Mountains. It covers an area of over two million acres, and as of 2000 its population was 13,022...
, and
Mount AshlandMount Ashland ski area is located on Mount Ashland and features 23 trails on served by four lifts, in addition to chute skiing in a glacial cirque called The Bowl. The mountain receives over of snow annually with a season from early December until mid-April...
(7,533 ft / 2296 m) in
Jackson County, OregonJackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. In 2008, its estimated population was 201,138. The county is named for Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States...
. They have a varied geology, with substantial areas of serpentine and
marbleMarble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. It is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.-Etymology:...
, and a climate characterized by a moderately cold winters with very heavy snowfall, and warm very dry summers with limited rainfall. As a consequence of the geology, the mountains harbor a unique floristic region known as the Klamath-Siskiyou, which includes several
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
or near-endemic trees, such as Port Orford cedar (
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana),
Foxtail pineThe Foxtail Pine is a rare pine that is endemic to California, United States, where it is found in two areas with a separate subspecies in each, the typical subsp. balfouriana in the Klamath Mountains, and subsp. austrina in the southern Sierra Nevada...
(
Pinus balfouriana spp.
balfouriana), Brewer spruce (
Picea breweriana) and a small shrub
KalmiopsisKalmiopsis is a rare flowering plant endemic to the Siskiyou Mountains of southwest Oregon, where it is specially protected in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness reserve. It was discovered in 1930 by Lilla Leech in the Gold Basin area. It is related to Kalmia in the family Ericaceae...
(
Kalmiopsis leachiana), forming one of the largest collections of different conifers in the world. The northernmost and largest sub-range of the Klamath Mountains are known as the
Siskiyou MountainsThe Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal mountain range in the northern Klamath Mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of Crescent City, California northeast along the north side of the Klamath River into...
. The area is also home to a diverse array of wild fish and animal species, including nine species of salmonid, plus bears, large cats, and eagles. Physiographically, they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn are part of the larger
Pacific Mountain SystemThe Western Cordillera covers an extensive area of mountain ranges, basins, and plateaus in western North America...
physiographic division.
Wilderness areas and national forests
Official wilderness areas include the
Trinity Alps WildernessThe Trinity Alps Wilderness is a designated wilderness located in northern California, roughly between Eureka and Redding. It is jointly administered by Shasta-Trinity, Klamath, and Six Rivers National Forests. About 4,623 acres are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness is...
(second largest in California), the
Siskiyou WildernessThe Siskiyou Wilderness is a federal wilderness area designated by the passage of the California Wilderness Act of 1984. Originally, the land area was The Northern California Wild Heritage Act of 2006 added for the current total of . All of the wilderness is in Northern California and is managed...
, the
Marble Mountain WildernessThe Marble Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area located northeast of Eureka, California, USA. It is managed by the US Forest Service and is within the Klamath National Forest. The land was first set aside on April 1931 as the Marble Mountain Primitive Area , it was one of four areas to gain...
, the
Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel WildernessThe Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located west of Red Bluff in the state of California. Created by the Wilderness Act of 1964, the land area was originally ....
, the
Red Buttes WildernessThe Red Buttes Wilderness is a wilderness area in Rogue River National Forest in the U.S. states of Oregon and California. It comprises , approximately of which is located in California, and in Oregon...
, the
Russian WildernessThe Russian Wilderness ia a 12,000-acre wilderness area located approximately 65 miles northeast of Eureka in northern California. It is within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County and is managed by the US Forest Service...
, and the
Kalmiopsis WildernessKalmiopsis Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon, within the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. It was designated wilderness by the United States Congress in 1964 and now comprises a total of...
. Several national forests converge in this region comprising millions of hectares of forest:
Shasta-Trinity National ForestThe Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the United States Forest Service. The 2.2-million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of...
, Siskiyou National Forest,
Klamath National ForestKlamath National Forest is a 1,737,774-acre national forest overwhelmingly located in Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension into southern Jackson County in Oregon. The forest contains continuous stands of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Douglas fir, red fir, white fir...
,
Six Rivers National ForestSix Rivers National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the northwestern corner of California. It was established on July 1, 1947 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman from portions of Klamath, Siskiyou and Trinity National Forests. Its over one million acres of land contain a variety of...
, and
Mendocino National ForestThe Mendocino National Forest is located in the Coastal Mountain Range in northwestern California and comprises 913,306 acres...
.
Major rivers, lakes, and game fish species
Major rivers and lakes in the Klamath Mountains include the
Klamath RiverThe Klamath River rises in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon, and flows about southwest through California, cutting through the southern Cascade Range to empty into the Pacific Ocean...
,
Trinity RiverThe Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
,
Smith RiverThe Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States, approximately 20 mi long. It drains a rugged area of the Pacific Coast Ranges west of the Siskiyou Mountains just south of the Oregon border and north of the watershed of the Klamath River. It is the...
,
Salmon RiverThe Salmon River is a major tributary to the Klamath River in western Siskiyou County, California. It is widely known to supposedly have self reflective powers once an individual sails down it in his/her vessel....
,
Rogue RiverThe Rogue River in southwestern Oregon in the United States flows about in a generally westward direction from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. Known for its salmon runs, whitewater rafting, and rugged scenery, it was one of the original eight rivers named in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act...
,
Scott RiverThe Scott River is a river in Siskiyou County, California, United States. It is a tributary of the Klamath River, one of the largest rivers in California....
,
Sacramento RiverThe Sacramento River is the longest river entirely within the state of California. Starting at the confluence of the South Fork and Middle Fork of the Sacramento River, near Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range mountains, the Sacramento flows south for through the northern Central Valley of...
and
Castle LakeCastle Lake is a glacial lake located in northern California along the eastern edge of the Klamath Mountains, in Siskiyou County, near the city of Mount Shasta. The outlet of the lake drains into Castle Lake Creek, and then into Lake Siskiyou; the lake is part of the headwaters of the Sacramento...
.
The many mountains, streams and rivers form a major spawning ground for several species of trout and salmon, yet recently, in the last 50 years, some of the fish stocks have fallen drastically, particularly salmon stocks. The ecoregion's rivers and streams are home to nine species of native salmonids. The depletions occur mainly because the creation of dams and excessive clear cut logging on the steep rugged slopes of the area both contribute to large amounts of silt in the stream beds, which in turn interferes with the salmon spawning, as they need exposed gravel beds in which to lay their eggs. Other notable fish species, besides king salmon and silver salmon, include steelhead,
brown troutThe brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
,
rainbow troutThe rainbow trout is a species of salmonid native to tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead is a sea run rainbow trout usually returning after 2 to 3 years at sea....
, kokanee salmon,
eastern brook troutThe brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, is a species of fish in the salmon family of order Salmoniformes. In many parts of its range, it is known as the speckled trout or squaretail. A potamodromous population in Lake Superior are known as coaster trout or, simply, as coasters...
,
crappiePomoxis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie; or P. nigromaculatus, the black crappie...
,
bluegillThe Bluegill is a species of freshwaterfish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family of order Perciformes. It is native...
,
catfishCatfish are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the heaviest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores , and even to a tiny...
,
largeThe largemouth bass is a species of fish in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth and...
and
smallmouth bassThe smallmouth bass is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of the order Perciformes. It is the type species of its genus...
.
Fauna
The vast forested wildlands, coupled with a low rate of human settlement in the rugged remote terrain, makes for excellent habitat for a number of species. Mammal species include mountain lions,
black bearsThe American black bear is North America's smallest and most common species of bear. It is a generalist animal, being able to exploit numerous different habitats and foodstuffs...
, bobcats,
lynxA lynx is any of four species of medium-sized wild cats. All are members of the genus Lynx, but there is considerable confusion about the best way to classify felids at present, and some authorities classify them as part of the genus Felis...
, raccoons, martens,
fishersThe fisher , also referred to as fisher cat, is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. It is closely related to but larger than the American Marten . Names derived from aboriginal languages include pekan, pequam, and wejack...
, beavers, grey fox,
red foxThe Red Fox is a small canid native to much of North America and Eurasia, as well as northern Africa. It is the most recognizable species of fox and in many areas it is referred to simply as "the fox"...
,
northern flying squirrelThe Northern flying squirrel is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America . Flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal...
, and plentiful deer. Bird species include golden eagles, bald eagles,
pileated woodpeckerThe Pileated Woodpecker is a very large North American woodpecker, almost crow sized, inhabiting deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the Pacific coast....
, band-tailed pigeon, several hawks including
goshawkThe Northern Goshawk , Accipiter gentilis, is a medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes other diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers....
s, several large
owlThe Owls are the order Strigiformes, comprising 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary, and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, though a few species specialize in hunting fish. They are found in all regions of the Earth except...
species including the
spotted owlThe Spotted Owl, Strix occidentalis, is a species of true owl. It is a resident species of forests in western North America, where it nests in tree holes, old bird of prey nests, or rock crevices. Nests can be between 13 and 66 yards high and usually contain two eggs...
, plus an extensive variety of additional species both plant and animal. The area used to have
grizzly bearThe grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
, wolves. One recent success story involves the reintroduction of
Roosevelt ElkThe Roosevelt elk , also known as Olympic elk, is the largest of the four surviving subspecies of elk in North America...
. The project first began in 1985 in the western Marble Mountains, near Elk Creek. Over the next 10 year the number and placement of reintroduced animals was expanded and now elk can be seen roaming throughout the Marble Mountain Wilderness, in the northern Siskiyou Mountains, and along the South Fork of the Salmon River. Some of the most remote areas hear rumors of bigfoot/sasquatch sightings from time to time, and the legendary creatures play a part in the native folk tales of the Native American populations.
Flora
The Klamath-Siskiyou is in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. The ecoregion harbors rich biodiversity, with several distinct plant communities, including temperate rain forests, moist inland forests, oak forests and savannas, high elevation forests, and alpine grasslands. One of the principal plant communities in the Klamath Mountains is
Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer ForestMediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest is a major forest association in the inner North Coast Range of California and continuing into the Klamath Range of Oregon in the USA. This forest type is often dominated by the California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii.-References:*...
. Thirty conifer species (or more depending on where one delineates the region) inhabit the area, including two endemic species
Brewer's sprucePicea breweriana is a species of spruce native to western North America, where it is one of the rarest in the continent, endemic to the Klamath Mountains of southwest Oregon and northwest California...
and Port Orford cedar, making the Klamath Mountains one of the richest coniferous forest regions of the world--in terms of concentrated species diversity. The region also has several
edaphicEdaphic is a general term referring to characteristics of the soil. This could be, for example, the drainage, the texture, or soil chemical properties, such as the pH. Edaphic characteristics are often used to describe plant communities that are found only on specific soil conditions...
plant communities, adapted to specific soil types, notably serpentine outcrops.
A large concentration of diverse coniferous species of trees exists in these mountains. Specifically in the
Russian WildernessThe Russian Wilderness ia a 12,000-acre wilderness area located approximately 65 miles northeast of Eureka in northern California. It is within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County and is managed by the US Forest Service...
, Dr. John O. Sawyer and Dr. Dale Thornburgh discovered 17 species of conifers in one square mile of varied mountainous terrain, not to mention over 400 other species of vascular plants. They called this diverse area the Miracle Mile. Conifer species in the Klamath Mountains include
Coast Douglas-firPseudotsuga menziesii, known as coast Douglas-fir, common Douglas-fir, or Oregon Douglas-fir, is an evergreen conifer species native to western North America. Its variety Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii grows in the coastal regions, from west-central British Columbia, Canada southward to...
(
Pseudotsuga menziesii ssp.
menziesii), Lawson's Cypress (also known as Port Orford Cedar, (
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana),
Ponderosa PinePinus ponderosa, commonly known as the Ponderosa Pine, Bull Pine, Blackjack Pine, or Western Yellow Pine, is a widespread and variable pine native to western North America. It was first described by David Douglas in 1826, from eastern Washington near present-day Spokane. It is a dominant tree in...
(
Pinus ponderosa),
Sugar PineThe Sugar Pine is a species of pine that occurs in the mountains of Oregon and California in the western United States, and Baja California in northwestern Mexico; specifically the Sierra Nevada, the Cascade Range, the Coast Ranges, and the Sierra San Pedro Martir.-Growth:This tree is one of the...
(
Pinus lambertiana),
Mountain HemlockTsuga mertensiana is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Tulare County, California.-Description:...
(
Tsuga mertensiana),
White FirWhite Fir is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. It is a medium to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25-60 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is popular as an ornamental landscaping tree and as a Christmas Tree...
(
Abies concolor var.
lowiana),
Red FirThe Red Fir or Silvertip fir is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States.-Description:...
(
A. magnifica var.
shastensis), Weeping Spruce (
Picea breweriana), Coast Redwood (
Sequoia sempervirens), Western Red Cedar (
Thuja Plicata), and Pacific Yew (
Taxus brevifolia).
Typical species of the Trinity Alps region include Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, red fir, white fir,
black oakEastern Black oak , or more commonly known as simply Black Oak is an oak in the red oak group of oaks. It is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario south to northern Florida and southern Maine west to northeastern Texas...
, canyon live oak,
Pacific madroneThe Pacific Madrone , is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...
,
bigleaf mapleAcer macrophyllum is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.It grows to be up to 35 m tall, but more commonly 15 m to 20 m tall. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska south to southern California...
, California buckeye, incense cedar, and
Jeffrey pineJeffrey Pine , named in honor of its documenter John Jeffrey, is a North American pine related to Ponderosa Pine. It occurs from southwest Oregon south through much of California , to northern Baja California in Mexico...
. California's northernmost stand of
Gray PineThe Gray Pine is a pine endemic to California in the United States; historically and internationally, the common name has been more frequently termed Digger Pine. The tree typically grows to 12-15 m, but can reach 35 m in height...
("Pinus sabiniana") is found here along the South Fork of the Salmon River.
Recreation
There are extensive hiking trail systems, recreation areas and campgrounds both primitive and developed. 211 miles of the
Pacific Crest TrailThe Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail that runs in Washington, Oregon, and California between Mexico and Canada....
passes through these mountains as well. This stretch of the PCT is known locally as
The Big Bend and is the transition from the
California Floristic ProvinceThe California Floristic Province is a floristic province with a Mediterranean climate located on the Pacific Coast of North America with a distinctive flora that bears similarities to floras found in other regions experiencing a winter rainfall, summer drought climate like the Mediterranean...
to the Cascade Mountains. The
Bigfoot TrailThe Bigfoot Trail is a U.S. long distance hiking trail in northern California . The trail begins in the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness and ends in Redwood National Park at the Pacific Ocean near Crescent City, California. A major focus along the trail is conifer diversity, passing 32 species in...
is a trail through the Klamath Mountains from the
Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel WildernessThe Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness is a federally designated wilderness area located west of Red Bluff in the state of California. Created by the Wilderness Act of 1964, the land area was originally ....
to
Crescent CityCrescent City is the county seat and only incorporated city in Del Norte County, California. Named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city, the city had a total population of 4,006 in the 2000 census with an estimated population of 7,300 , which includes inmates at Pelican...
.
See also
External links