The
Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal
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 the northern
Klamath MountainsThe Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinty Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
in northwestern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and southwestern
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...
. They extend in an arc for approximately from east of
Crescent City, CaliforniaCrescent City is the only incorporated city of Del Norte County, California and serves as the county seat. It is named for the crescent-shaped stretch of sandy beach south of the city. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 4,006, not including the 3,300 prisoners at Pelican...
northeast along the north side of the
Klamath RiverThe Klamath River, called Ishkêesh by the Karuk and Koke by the Klamath tribe, is a river in southeastern Oregon and northern California in the United States. Beginning at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake east of the Cascade Range, the river drains in parts of three Oregon counties and five in...
into
JosephineJosephine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oregon. According to Oregon Geographic Names, the county is probably named after a stream in the area called Josephine Creek, which in turn is probably named after Virginia Josephine Rollins Ort. In 2000, its population was 75,726...
and
JacksonJackson 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...
counties in Oregon. The mountain range forms a barrier between the
watershedA drainage basin is an extent of land where water from rain or snow melt drains downhill into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea or ocean...
s of the Klamath River to the south and the
Rogue RiverThe Rogue River in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Oregon flows about 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 included in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968...
to the north.
The highest peaks in the range include
Mt. AshlandMount Ashland ski area is located on Amount 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...
at elevation , Dutchman Peak at , Siskiyou Peak at , and Wagner Butte at , all of which are in Oregon. The highest peak in the California portion of the range is
Preston PeakPreston Peak is a dominant feature of the Siskiyou Wilderness. Many peaks in the wilderness rise to over 6,000 feet but none come to within 500 feet of approaching the height of Preston Peak...
at . Due to this high elevation and proximity to the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
, the peaks get high precipitation (rainfall and snowfall) and thus its forests are a lush green.
These mountains are not the highest or most dramatic in the Klamath Mountains but are subtly beautiful, botanically diverse, and the wildest the region has to offer. Diversity abounds because western canyons can receive over of rain in some winters while eastern areas are slightly more arid. Because the Siskiyou trends both north and south and then east and west, it holds species that range from coastal, like coast redwood, to Cascadian, like Alaska yellow-cedar and
Pacific silver firPacific Silver Fir is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range from the extreme southeast of Alaska, through western British Columbia, Washington and Oregon, to the extreme northwest of California...
.
Much of the range is within the
Rogue River-SiskiyouThe Rogue River – Siskiyou National Forest is a United States National Forest located on both sides of the border between the states of Oregon and California. The formerly separate Rogue River and Siskiyou National Forests were administratively combined in 2004...
and
KlamathKlamath 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...
national forests. 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....
follows a portion of the ridge of the range. The
Klamath-Siskiyou forestsThe Klamath-Siskiyou forests are a temperate coniferous forest ecoregion in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon and is part of the ecoregion system establishe by the World Wildlife Fund...
are noted for their high
biodiversityBiodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems...
.
Name origins
The origin of the word
siskiyou is not known. One version is that it is the
Chinook JargonChinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread quickly up the West Coast from modern Oregon to the regions now Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska. It is related to, but not the same as, the aboriginal language of the Chinook people, upon which much...
word for "bob-tailed horse." According to historian Richard Mackie, "Siskiyou" was a
CreeCree is one of the largest group of First Nations/Aboriginals in North America, located mainly across Canada and historically in the United States from Minnesota westward but are found today in Montana....
word for a bob-tailed horse, one of which perished in 1829 during
Alexander McLeod'sAlexander Roderick McLeod was a fur trader and explorer who began his career with the North West Company in 1802.McLeod became a chief trader with the Hudson's Bay Company after they joined with the NWC in 1821...
journey over a pass later named for the "siskiyou" (today's
Siskiyou PassSiskiyou Summit is a mountain pass that carries Interstate 5 through the Siskiyou Mountains near the border between the U.S. states of California and Oregon. The summit is located on the Oregon side, approximately north of the state line, and, at , is the highest point on Interstate 5...
). The Cree were in the area as part of McLeod's
Hudson's Bay CompanyThe Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and is one of the oldest in the world...
expedition, and had been recruited far away in their homeland in eastern Canada. Another version, given in an argument before the State Senate in 1852, is that the French name
Six Cailloux, meaning "six-stones," was given to a ford on the
Umpqua RiverThe Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon coast, it drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley, from which it is separated by the...
by
Michel LaframboiseMichel Laframboise was a French Canadian fur trader in the Oregon Country that settled on the French Prairie in the modern U.S. state of Oregon. A native of Quebec, he worked for the Pacific Fur Company, the North West Company, and the Hudson’s Bay Company before he later became a farmer and...
and a party of Hudson's Bay Company company
trapperTrapper may refer to:*A person who engages in animal trapping*Coal trapper*Trapper Keeper, a brand of loose-leaf binder*A make of Yacht, no longer manufactured in the UK.*A hungarian .In sports:*Destil Trappers, a Dutch hockey team...
s in 1832, because six large stones or rocks lay in the river where they crossed. According to some, the
Six Cailloux name was appropriated to this region by
Stephen MeekStephen Meek may refer to:* Stephen Meek , led emigrants astray along the Oregon Trail* Stephen Meek , headmaster of the Geelong Grammar School...
, another Hudson's Bay Company company trapper who was known for his "discovery" of
Scott ValleyScott Valley is a large, scenic rural area of western Siskiyou County, California, known for its vistas of the Marble Mountains, cattle and dairy ranches, and its historic background as a gold mining area, dating back to the days of the California Gold Rush...
, in regard to a crossing on the
Klamath RiverThe Klamath River, called Ishkêesh by the Karuk and Koke by the Klamath tribe, is a river in southeastern Oregon and northern California in the United States. Beginning at the outlet of Upper Klamath Lake east of the Cascade Range, the river drains in parts of three Oregon counties and five in...
near
HornbrookHornbrook is a census-designated place in Siskiyou County, California, United States. The population was 286 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Hornbrook is located at ....
. Still others attribute the name to a local tribe of Native Americans.
Ecology and protection
There is considerable
biodiversityBiodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems...
within the Siskiyou Range, including extensive forests. Conifer species include
Coast Douglas-firThe Coast Douglas-fir , a variety of Douglas-fir, is an evergreen conifer native to the coastal regions of western North America, from west-central British Columbia, Canada southward to central California, United States. In Oregon and Washington its range is continuous from the Cascades crest west...
(Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp.
menziesii), Lawson's Cypress (also known as Port Orford Cedar,
Chamaecyparis lawsoniana),
Ponderosa PinePonderosa Pine , sometimes called Bull 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 the Kuchler plant association Ponderosa...
(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 the largest...
(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.-Description:...
(Abies concolor subsp.
lowiana),
Red FirThe Red Fir is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States.-Description:...
(A. magnifica subsp.
shastensis), Weeping Spruce
(Picea breweriana), Coast Redwood
(Sequoia sempervirens), and Pacific Yew
(Taxus brevifolia). The largest extant
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...
,
Quercus kelloggii, is found in the Siskiyou Mountains. The
Blue OakThe Blue Oak is an oak in the white oak section of the genus, Quercus sect. Quercus. It is endemic to California and is found in foothills surrounding the Central Valley of California and certain locations in the California Coast Ranges, USA...
,
Quercus douglasii, is beyond its contiguous range; however, there are disjunctive populations of Blue Oak within the Siskiyou Mountains.The eponymous endangered
Siskiyou Mountains salamanderThe Siskiyou Mountains salamander , also called the Siskiyou Mountain salamander, is a close relative of the Del Norte Salamander, and some herpetologists believe it may be a subspecies of that animal. It is rich brown in color with white speckles. It is approximately 9 cm long, not counting the...
is also found within this mountain range.
The Siskiyou range has federal protection in several forms.
Oregon Caves National MonumentOregon Caves National Monument is a national monument in the northern Siskiyou Mountains of southwestern Oregon in the United States. Known primarily for its marble caves, the park is located in southeastern Josephine County approximately as the crow flies south of Grants Pass or a drive from...
protects in the northern part of the range south of
Grants Pass, OregonGrants Pass is a city in, and the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States . The city is located on Interstate 5, northwest of Medford. Attractions include the Rogue River, famous for its rafting, and the nearby Oregon Caves National Monument located south of the city...
. The Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument protects at the junction of the Siskiyou and Cascade Ranges. There are three designated
wildernessWilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
areas in the range in Oregon and California - 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...
, which protects ,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...
, which protects and 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...
, which protects .
Siskiyou Trail
The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley, through the Siskiyous, to Oregon's
Willamette ValleyThe Willamette Valley is the region in northwest Oregon in the United States that surrounds the Willamette River as it proceeds northward from its emergence from mountains near Eugene to its confluence with the Columbia River at Portland. A small part of the Willamette Valley ecoregion is in...
. Originally based on existing
Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States is the phrase that describes indigenous peoples from North America now encompassed by the continental United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii. They comprise a large number of distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of...
foot trails winding their way through river valleys, the Siskiyou Trail provided the shortest practical travel path between early settlements in California and Oregon in the 1820s.
Siskiyou Summit
Interstate 5Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, paralleling the Pacific Ocean from Canada to Mexico and serving some of the largest cities of that part of the U.S., including Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego...
passes through the Siskiyou Mountains at Siskiyou Summit, located just north of the Oregon/California border, and just south of
Ashland, OregonAshland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States, near Interstate 5 and the California border, and located in the south end of the Rogue Valley. It was named after Ashland County, Ohio, point of origin of Abel Helman and other founders, and secondarily for Ashland, Kentucky, where other...
. Siskiyou Summit is the highest pass on Interstate 5, at . This pass is one of the most treacherous in the Interstate highway system. The
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
side has a more gradual ascent/descent, but on the Oregon side of the pass (the side which is more hazardous), the freeway gains (loses) in elevation over a stretch of freeway. In addition, the pass includes several hazardous curves, and is frequently hit with bad weather (including snow, ice, and fog) during winter storms. During winter, it is common for the highway to be closed one to four times by transportation authorities due to hazardous conditions. The speed limit is , but lower limits are set for larger vehicles.
External links