Klamath Mountains
Encyclopedia
Mountain range
A mountain range is a single, large mass consisting of a succession of mountains or narrowly spaced mountain ridges, with or without peaks, closely related in position, direction, formation, and age; a component part of a mountain system or of a mountain chain...
in northwest California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and southwest Oregon
Oregon
Oregon 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 States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The highest peaks are Mount Eddy
Mount Eddy
Mount Eddy is the highest summit in Trinity Mountains of 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, California
Siskiyou County, California
Siskiyou 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. Because of its substantial natural beauty, outdoor recreation opportunities, and Gold Rush era history, it is an important...
, Thompson Peak (9002 ft / 2744 m) in Trinity County, California
Trinity County, California
Trinity 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 the 2010 census its population...
, and Mount Ashland
Mount Ashland
Mount 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, Oregon
Jackson County, Oregon
-National protected areas:* Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument* Crater Lake National Park * Klamath National Forest * Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest * Umpqua National Forest -Demographics:...
. They have a varied geology, with substantial areas of serpentine and marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
, 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 endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
or near-endemic trees, such as Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), Foxtail pine
Foxtail Pine
The 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.-Description:Foxtail Pine is a tree to tall,...
(Pinus balfouriana spp. balfouriana), Brewer spruce (Picea breweriana) and a small shrub Kalmiopsis
Kalmiopsis
Kalmiopsis is a small genus of flowering plants in the heath family. It contains two species endemic to Oregon in the United States. This was a monotypic genus containing only Kalmiopsis leachiana until 2007, when a form of it was elevated to species status, Kalmiopsis fragrans....
(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 Mountains
Siskiyou Mountains
The 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 System physiographic division.
Geology
The rocks of the Klamath Mountains originated as islands in the Pacific OceanPacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The islands were created by volcanic activity and tectonic plate movements as early as 500 million years ago, in the early Paleozoic
Paleozoic
The Paleozoic era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon, spanning from roughly...
era. The islands moved eastward on the Farallon plate
Farallon Plate
The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate— then located in modern Utah— as Pangaea broke apart during the Jurassic Period...
and smashed into the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n continent from 260 to about 130 million years ago. Each accretion left a terrane
Terrane
A terrane in geology is short-hand term for a tectonostratigraphic terrane, which is a fragment of crustal material formed on, or broken off from, one tectonic plate and accreted or "sutured" to crust lying on another plate...
of rock of a single age. After accretion, subduction of the plate caused plutons to intrude into the terranes. Subsequent lava flows from the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
and erosion from the Oregon Coast Range
Oregon Coast Range
The Oregon Coast Range, often called simply the Coast Range and sometimes the Pacific Coast Range, is a mountain range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, in the U.S. state of Oregon along the Pacific Ocean...
partially covered the Klamaths' original rock.
Wilderness areas and national forests
Official wilderness areas include the Trinity Alps WildernessTrinity Alps Wilderness
The 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 are administered by the Bureau of Land Management. The wilderness is located in...
(second largest in California), the Siskiyou Wilderness
Siskiyou Wilderness
The 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 Wilderness
Marble Mountain Wilderness
The 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 Wilderness
Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness
The 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 Wilderness
Red Buttes Wilderness
The Red Buttes Wilderness is a wilderness area in Rogue River – Siskiyou 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 Wilderness
Russian Wilderness
The Russian Wilderness is a wilderness area of located approximately 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 Wilderness
Kalmiopsis Wilderness
Kalmiopsis 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 Forest
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
The 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 Forest
Klamath National Forest
Klamath National Forest is a national forest, in the Klamath Mountains, 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 and...
, Six Rivers National Forest
Six Rivers National Forest
Six 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 Forest
Mendocino National Forest
The 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 RiverKlamath River
The Klamath River is an American river that flows southwest through Oregon and northern California, cutting through the Cascade Range to empty into the Pacific Ocean. The river drains an extensive watershed of almost that stretches from the high desert country of the Great Basin to the temperate...
, Trinity River
Trinity River (California)
The 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 River
Smith River (California)
The Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States, approximately 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. The catchment area is...
, Salmon River
Salmon River (California)
The Salmon River is a tributary to the Klamath River in western Siskiyou County, California.The river has its origins in the high mountains of the Trinity Alps, Russian Mountains, and Marble Mountains...
, Rogue River
Rogue River (Oregon)
The 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 River
Scott River
The 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 River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
and Castle Lake
Castle Lake (California)
Castle 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 trout
Brown trout
The brown trout and the sea trout are fish of the same species....
, rainbow trout
Rainbow trout
The 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 to freshwater to spawn after 2 to 3 years at sea. In other words, rainbow trout and steelhead trout are the same species....
, kokanee salmon, eastern brook trout
Brook trout
The 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...
, crappie
Crappie
Crappie is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is P. annularis, the white crappie...
, bluegill
Bluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
, catfish
Catfish
Catfishes 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 and longest, the Mekong giant catfish from Southeast Asia and the second longest, the wels catfish of Eurasia, to detritivores...
, large
Largemouth bass
The largemouth bass is a species of black bass in the sunfish family native to North America . It is also known as widemouth bass, bigmouth, black bass, bucketmouth, Potter's fish, Florida bass, Florida largemouth, green bass, green trout, linesides, Oswego bass, southern largemouth...
and smallmouth bass
Smallmouth bass
The 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 bearsAmerican black bear
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear native to North America. It is the continent's smallest and most common bear species. Black bears are omnivores, with their diets varying greatly depending on season and location. They typically live in largely forested areas, but do leave forests in...
, bobcats, lynx
Lynx
A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...
, raccoons, martens, fishers
Fisher (animal)
The fisher is a medium-size mammal native to North America. It is a member of the mustelid family, commonly referred to as the weasel family. The fisher is closely related to but larger than the American Marten...
, beavers, grey fox, red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, northern flying squirrel
Northern Flying Squirrel
The Northern flying squirrel is one of two species of the genus Glaucomys, the only flying squirrels found in North America . Unlike most members of their family, flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal...
, and plentiful deer. Bird species include golden eagles, bald eagles, pileated woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
The 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. It is also the largest woodpecker in America.Adults are long, and weigh...
, band-tailed pigeon, several hawks including goshawks, several large owl
Owl
Owls are a group of birds that belong to the order Strigiformes, constituting 200 bird of prey species. Most are solitary and nocturnal, with some exceptions . Owls hunt mostly small mammals, insects, and other birds, although a few species specialize in hunting fish...
species including the spotted owl
Spotted Owl
The 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 bear
Grizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown 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 Elk
Roosevelt elk
The 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
Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest
Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest is a major forest association and ecosystem of the California mixed evergreen forest bioregion in certain mountain ranges in California and southern Oregon in the Western United States; and Baja California in Northwest Mexico ...
. Thirty conifer species (or more depending on where one delineates the region) inhabit the area, including two endemic species Brewer's spruce
Brewer's Spruce
Picea breweriana is a species of spruce native to western North America, where it is one of the rarest on 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 edaphic
Edaphic
Edaphic is a nature related to soil. Edaphic qualities may characterize the soil itself, including drainage, texture, or chemical properties such as pH. Edaphic may also characterize organisms, such as plant communities, where it specifies their relationships with soil...
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 Wilderness
Russian Wilderness
The Russian Wilderness is a wilderness area of located approximately 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-fir
Coast Douglas-fir
Pseudotsuga menziesii, known as Douglas-fir, Oregon Pine, or Douglas spruce, is an evergreen conifer species native to western North America. Its variety Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii, also known as coast Douglas-fir grows in the coastal regions, from west-central British Columbia, Canada...
(Pseudotsuga menziesii ssp. menziesii), Lawson's Cypress (also known as Port Orford Cedar, (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), Ponderosa Pine
Ponderosa Pine
Pinus 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...
(Pinus ponderosa), Sugar Pine
Sugar Pine
Pinus lambertiana, commonly known as the sugar pine or sugar cone pine, is the tallest and most massive pine, with the longest cones of any conifer...
(Pinus lambertiana), Mountain Hemlock
Mountain Hemlock
Tsuga mertensiana, known as Mountain Hemlock, 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....
(Tsuga mertensiana), White Fir
White Fir
White 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 Fir
Red Fir
Abies magnifica, the Red Fir or Silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high altitude tree, typically occurring at altitude, though only rarely reaching tree line...
(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 oak, canyon live oak, Pacific madrone
Pacific Madrone
Arbutus menziesii, commonly known as the Pacific Madrone, is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...
, bigleaf maple
Bigleaf Maple
Acer macrophyllum is a large deciduous tree in the genus Acer.It can grow to be up to 35 m tall, but more commonly grows 15 m to 20 m tall. It is native to western North America, mostly near the Pacific coast, from southernmost Alaska to southern California...
, California buckeye, incense cedar, and Jeffrey pine
Jeffrey Pine
The Jeffrey Pine, Pinus jeffreyi, named in honor of its botanist documenter John Jeffrey, is a North American pine related to Ponderosa Pine.-Distribution and habitat:...
. California's northernmost stand of Gray Pine
Gray Pine
Pinus sabiniana , with the common names gray pine, California foothill pine, and the more historically and internationally used digger pine, is a pine endemic to California in the United States...
("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 (339.6 km) of the Pacific Crest TrailPacific Crest Trail
The Pacific Crest Trail is a long-distance mountain hiking and equestrian trail on the Western Seaboard of the United States. The southern terminus is at the California border with Mexico...
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 Province
California Floristic Province
The 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 Cascades. The Bigfoot Trail
Bigfoot Trail
The 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 400 miles (643.7 km) trail through the Klamath Mountains from the Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness
Yolla Bolly-Middle Eel Wilderness
The 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 City
Crescent City, California
Crescent 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, Crescent City had a total population of 7,643 in the 2010 census, up from 4,006 in the 2000 census...
.
See also
- Category: Klamath Mountains
- List of Oregon Wildernesses
- California Wilderness Areas
- Klamath Knot