The Klamath Basin is the region in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

s of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

drained by the

Klamath River The Klamath River (Karuk: ''Ishkêesh'', Klamath: ''Koke'', Yurok: ''Hehlkeek 'We-Roy'') flows through Oregon and northern California in the United States, emptying into the Pacific Ocean. By average discharge, the Klamath is the second larges ...

. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt,

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language **Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc *Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Mo ...

, Siskiyou, and

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the F ...

counties in California. The

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, t ...

is 35% in Oregon and 65% in California. In Oregon, the watershed typically lies east of the Cascade Range, while California contains most of the river's segment that passes through the mountains. In the Oregon-far northern California segment of the river, the watershed is

semi-desert A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...

at lower elevations and dry

alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National Pa ...

in the upper elevations. In the western part of the basin, in California, however, the climate is more of

temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Paci ...

, and the Trinity River watershed consists of a more typical alpine climate.

Geology and hydrology

The Upper Klamath Watershed lies between the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades 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

Basin and Range Province The Basin and Range Province is a vast physiographic region covering much of the inland Western United States and northwestern Mexico. It is defined by unique basin and range topography, characterized by abrupt changes in elevation, alternating ...

in southern Oregon and northern California. Bedrock

stratigraphy Stratigraphy is a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock (geology), rock layers (Stratum, strata) and layering (stratification). It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary rock, sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks. Stratigrap ...

in the area includes volcanic deposits,

volcanic ejecta Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown out", singular ejectum) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles including pyroclastic materials (tephra) that came out of a volcanic explosion and magm ...

, and fluviolacustrine deposits. This creates three general

hydrologic Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

layers: 1) Highly permeable

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

with an older depositional age serving as the principle

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing, permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Groundwater from aquifers can be extracted using a water well. Aquifers vary greatly in their characterist ...

, 2)

fluvial In geography and geology, fluvial processes are associated with rivers and streams and the deposits and landforms created by them. When the stream or rivers are associated with glaciers, ice sheets, or ice caps, the term glaciofluvial or fluviog ...

deposits made up of tuff, shale, agglomerate, sandstone, and volcanic ash that are collectively known as the Yonna Formation and act as a groundwater cap, and 3) more recent eruptive volcanic deposits that overlie the aquifer. Little water is able to permeate through the upper volcanic deposit layers to the principle aquifers. Groundwater is able to move freely throughout the upper basin despite geologic structures that occur due to normal faulting which only confine groundwater on a local scale.

Artesian wells An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...

discharging into the Upper Klamath Lake are essential for recharge into the lake and

flow throughout the year. Snowmelt is currently a large contributor of

groundwater recharge Groundwater recharge or deep drainage or deep percolation is a hydrologic process, where water moves downward from surface water to groundwater. Recharge is the primary method through which water enters an aquifer. This process usually occurs in ...

in the Upper Klamath Basin.

Distribution of subwatersheds

The drainage basins of the Williamson and Sprague Rivers, in Oregon, are to the north and northeast of Upper Klamath Lake. Together, the two watersheds cover , or 19.4% of the Klamath River watershed.''Hydrology, Ecology and Fishes of the Klamath River Basin'', p.27BEST and WSTB, p. 26 The basin of the Lost River, the largest subwatershed by area, lies to the southeast of Upper Klamath Lake and to the east of Lower Klamath Lake. This covers or 19.1% of the Klamath River watershed - nearly as much as the Williamson and Sprague. Proceeding west, the adjoining Butte Creek, Shasta, Scott and Salmon River watersheds have , , , and , respectively. These account for 4.3%, 5%, 5.2%. and 5% of the Klamath River watershed, respectively, or 19.5% of the watershed if put together. Further southwest, the watershed of the Trinity River, the second largest subwatershed of the Klamath, has or 19% of the watershed. The watershed of the

South Fork Trinity River The South Fork Trinity River is the main tributary of the Trinity River, in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is part of the Klamath River drainage basin. It flows generally northwest from its source in the Klamath Mountains, ...

is - 33% of the Trinity watershed or 6% of the Klamath watershed. The primary tributaries of the Klamath together account for 77% of the total Klamath watershed - the remaining land area is drained by smaller tributaries such as Jenny Creek, Fall Creek and Blue Creek.

Major bodies of water

Upper Klamath Lake is the largest present-day body of water in the Klamath River watershed, covering on average, with a shoreline of . It is also the largest freshwater lake in the state of Oregon. Historically, Lower Klamath Lake and

Tule Lake Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon. Geography Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The elevat ...

were one interconnected freshwater marsh that totaled - more than twice the present-day dimensions of Upper Klamath Lake, and larger than

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...

in central California. This interconnected wetland still supports up to 3.7 million migrating birds per year. In wet years, the two lakes would connect to Upper Klamath Lake, forming one huge body of water. These lakes occupy the basin that was prehistorically occupied by

Lake Modoc Lake Modoc is a former lake in California and Oregon, in the location of present-day Upper Klamath Lake, Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake. It existed during the Pliocene and Pleistocene epochs, its formation probably influenced by volcanism and fa ...

, a freshwater lake that covered the entire Upper Klamath Basin, or 7% of the watershed - an area three times larger than the massive

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly saline body of water in Riverside and Imperial counties at the southern end of the U.S. state of California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the Salton Trough that stretches to the Gulf o ...

in southern California. This lake existed up to 11,000 years ago at the end of the most recent

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. Today, Upper Klamath Lake encompasses just 0.6% of the Klamath watershed. There are also several artificial bodies of water in the watershed - including

Lake Ewauna Lake Ewauna is a reservoir in Klamath Falls, Oregon. It is the headwaters of the Klamath River, fed by the Link River from Upper Klamath Lake. Its constant level throughout the year is controlled by the release of water from Keno Dam, south of th ...

, J.C. Boyle Reservoir,

Copco Lake Copco Lake is an artificial lake on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California, near the Oregon border in the United States. The lake's waters are impounded by the Copco Number 1 Dam (National ID CA00323), which was completed in 1922. COPCO w ...

, and Iron Gate Reservoir on the main Klamath. Lake Ewauna, also called Keno Reservoir, is in size, and is about long. The J.C. Boyle Reservoir is much smaller, with a surface area of . Copco Reservoir is about long and is in area. Iron Gate Reservoir covers and is about long. Together, the four lower mainstem reservoirs total just , or 0.04% of the Klamath River watershed.

Trinity Lake Trinity Lake, previously called Clair Engle Lake, is an artificial lake on the Trinity River formed by the Trinity Dam and located in Trinity County, California, United States. The dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The lake's cap ...

, on the mainstem of the Trinity River, is the largest tributary reservoir in the Klamath River watershed. At in size, it is larger than all four mainstem Klamath reservoirs combined (excluding Upper Klamath Lake). Klamath Basin landscape

Watershed

According to the USGS watershed classification system, the Klamath Watershed is a 6-digit, level 3 Accounting Unit within Region 18, known as the California watershed region. The accounting unit of the Klamath Watershed is 180102 and includes twelve 8-digit Hydrologic Units (HUCs) covering 9.4 million acres. In the 2000 census, about 114,000 people were estimated to be living within the Klamath Watershed. The largest population centers include

Klamath Falls, Oregon Klamath Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Klamath County, Oregon, United States. The city was originally called ''Linkville'' when George Nurse founded the town in 1867. It was named after the Link River, on whose falls the city was ...

(19,462) and

Yreka, California Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fro ...

(7,290). Land ownership within the basin breaks down into the following: about 90,000 acres are controlled by tribal reservations, 6.2 million acres are managed by public agencies (including the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

, National Forests,

National Wildlife Refuges National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

, and

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

), and 3.7 million is privately owned. Of the privately owned land, 557,000 acres are used for farming 80% of which is irrigated farmland. Nearly half of irrigated land utilizes water from the

’s

Klamath Project The Klamath Project is a water-management project developed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to supply farmers with irrigation water and farmland in the Klamath Basin. The project also supplies water to the Tule Lake National Wildlif ...

. The vast majority of privately owned agriculture and rangeland occurs in the Lost River and Shasta River sub-basins.United States Department of Agriculture: Natural Resources Conservation Service (2002). Klamath River Basin: Land Use/Land Cover Map. Retrieved from https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MEDIA/nrcs143_022731.jpg The Klamath Basin

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

includes: These three rivers are located above (north) of the Klamath Lake basin: * Sprague River, Oregon * Williamson River, Oregon * Sycan River, Oregon These features are inside or near the Klamath Lake basin: *

Upper Klamath Lake Upper Klamath Lake (sometimes called Klamath Lake) ( Klamath: ?ews, "lake" ) is a large, shallow freshwater lake east of the Cascade Range in south-central Oregon in the United States. The largest body of fresh water by surface area in Oregon, it ...

, Oregon *

Link River The Link River is a short river connecting Upper Klamath Lake to Lake Ewauna in the city of Klamath Falls in the U.S. state of Oregon.McArthur, p. 580 Draining a basin of , the river begins at the southern end of Klamath Lake and flows a short di ...

, Oregon *

Agency Lake Agency Lake is a natural lake located west of Chiloquin in Klamath County, Oregon. It is actually the northern arm of Upper Klamath Lake, connected by a narrow channel. Retrieved on July 7, 2009. Retrieved on July 7, 2009. Its primary inflo ...

, Oregon * Lost River, Oregon, California *

Clear Lake Reservoir Clear Lake Reservoir is a reservoir in the Klamath Basin and the Modoc National Forest, in northwestern Modoc County, California. It is part of the Klamath Project. and about northwest of Alturas. It is formed by Clear Lake Dam on the Lost Ri ...

, California *

Lower Klamath Lake Lower Klamath Lake is a lake in Siskiyou County, California. At one time it was connected to Upper Klamath Lake. It currently is used to hold overflow water for Klamath Project irrigation uses. The lake is in Northern California, near the border ...

, California These are the major downstream tributaries of the Klamath River: * Butte Creek, California, Oregon *

Shasta River The Shasta River is a tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed 9 March 2011 in northern California in the United States. It dr ...

, California *

Scott River The Scott River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed March 9, 2011 river in Siskiyou County, California, United States. It is a tributary of the Klamath River, one of the ...

, California * Salmon River, California * Trinity River, California

Communities

Communities in the Klamath Basin include:

References

External links

Klamath Waters Digital Library
from

Oregon Institute of Technology The Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is a public polytechnic university in Oregon with a residential campus in Klamath Falls, Oregon, an urban campus in Wilsonville, Oregon, and additional locations in Salem and Seattle. Oregon Tec ...

Map of Klamath Basin
from The Wilderness Society
Klamath River Restoration
;Congressional hearings
The Klamath River Basin: Hearing before the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, First Session ... June 20, 2013Klamath Basin: Hearing before the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Thirteenth Congress, Second Session, to Hear Testimony on S. 2379, the "Klamath Basin Water Recovery and Economic Restoration Act of 2014," June 3, 2014
{{Authority control Klamath River Watersheds of California Watersheds of the United States Regions of California Regions of Oregon Landforms of Del Norte County, California Landforms of Humboldt County, California Landforms of Modoc County, California Landforms of Siskiyou County, California Landforms of Trinity County, California Landforms of Klamath County, Oregon Landforms of Jackson County, Oregon Landforms of Lake County, Oregon Northern California Klamath Mountains Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest Valleys of Oregon