The Salmon River is a
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
accessed March 9, 2011 tributary to 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 ...
in western
Siskiyou County, California
Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...
.
Course
The river has its origins in the high mountains of the
Trinity Alps
The Trinity Alps are a mountain range in Trinity County and Siskiyou County in Northern California. They are a subrange of the Klamath Mountains located to the north of Weaverville.
Geography
The Trinity Alps are within the Pacific Coast Ran ...
,
Russian Mountains
Russian Mountains were a predecessor to the roller coaster in which the term is adopted by several Romance languages in other parts of Europe.
The earliest roller coasters were descended from Russian winter sled rides held on specially constructe ...
, and
Marble Mountains (all sub-ranges of the larger
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast R ...
). The Salmon River comprises two forks, the
North Fork and the
South Fork, which join at the hamlet of
Forks of Salmon, California
Forks of Salmon is an unincorporated community of Siskiyou County in northern California, USA. The town is situated at the confluence of the north and south forks of the Salmon River, hence its name. The ZIP Code is 96031. The community is insid ...
to form the 19.6-mile (31.5 km) long mainstem Salmon River. A large tributary stream,
Wooley Creek, joins the mainstem Salmon River about from its mouth at
Somes Bar, and is nearly as large as the North Fork. The lower portion of the Salmon River's southwestern divide defines the boundary of
Siskiyou County
Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...
and
Humboldt County.
Watershed
The river's
watershed is entirely within the
Klamath National Forest
Klamath National Forest is a United States National Forest, national forest, in the Klamath Mountains and Cascade Range, located in Siskiyou County, California, Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension (1.5 percent of the ...
, and less than two percent of the land area is privately owned. Nearly half of the watershed is federally protected wilderness area, including portions of the
Trinity 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 ...
on the south, the
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. It was added to the National Wi ...
on the east, and the
Marble Mountain Wilderness
The Marble Mountain Wilderness is a wilderness area located southwest of Yreka, California, in the United States. It is managed by the United States Forest Service and is within the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County. The land was first ...
on the north. Another twenty-five percent of the watershed is designated as
Late Successional Reserve under the
Northwest Forest Plan
The Northwest Forest Plan (NWFP) is a series of federal policies and guidelines governing land use on federal lands in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It covers 10 million hectares within Western Oregon and Washington as well ...
and is managed to enhance and retain
old-growth forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
characteristics and habitat.
Ecology
Unlike most other large California rivers, the Salmon is completely free flowing, with no
dam
A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...
s or significant flow diversions of any kind. It is one of the most pristine areas in the Klamath River system and one of California's most pristine rivers. It retains the only viable population of wild
spring Chinook salmon in the Klamath watershed and offers some of the best
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
habitat for salmon, steelhead, green sturgeon, rainbow trout, Pacific lamprey, and other fish. The mainstem Salmon River, its North Fork, South Fork, and Wooley Creek are part of the
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free- ...
, having been designated by Secretary of the Interior
Cecil D. Andrus in January 1981, who was acting on California governor
Jerry Brown
Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of S ...
's petition to add the rivers to the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
Wildfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
are the most significant mechanism of ecological change and one of the greatest threats to the river and its watershed. Fires are a natural part of this
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
, but are now often fueled by logging
slash
Slash may refer to:
* Slash (punctuation), the "/" character
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Slash (Marvel Comics)
* Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'')
Music
* Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band
* Nash ...
and fuels accumulated through decades of fire suppression efforts and therefore burn much hotter, more intensely, and more frequently than they would otherwise naturally burn. Large fires in 1977, 1987, 1994, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014, and 2017 have contributed to increased
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
, causing increases in
sediment
Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...
in the river and its tributaries. The excessive sediment degrades the habitat of aquatic organisms, particularly for
coho salmon
The coho salmon (''Oncorhynchus kisutch;'' Karuk: achvuun) is a species of anadromous fish in the salmon family and one of the five Pacific salmon species. Coho salmon are also known as silver salmon or "silvers". The scientific species name i ...
,
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus ''Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ve ...
,
sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...
and
steelhead
Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and N ...
.
References
External links
Salmon River Restoration CouncilSalmon River History Timeline: 1849-presentCalifornia Invasive Plant Council(PDF)
{{Klamath River
Rivers of Siskiyou County, California
Tributaries of the Klamath River
Klamath National Forest
Six Rivers National Forest
Rivers of Northern California