Klamath River is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

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 ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, situated on 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 large ...

. It is located on State Route 96, near the

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

border. The name "Klamath" was derived from an Indian word ''Tlamatl'' which means "they of the (Klamath) river," from /-matl/ "river." in Chinook. The community of Klamath River is about long and includes both sides of the river from Gottville to Kohl Creek. The population is 190. In 2022, a forest fire destroyed most of the structures in the town.

History

The Klamath River area was home to the Hupa (Hoopa),

Karuk The Karuk people are an indigenous people of California, and the Karuk Tribe is one of the largest tribes in California. Karuks are also enrolled in two other federally recognized tribes, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad ...

, Modoc, and

Yurok The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...

Indian tribes. Native Americans relied on the river for its abundance of salmon and trout. The California Gold Rush of 1848–1855 brought many miners to the Klamath River watershed. The miners caused disruption in the lives of the Native Americans of the area by damming and diverting water for mining purposes, which made it difficult for spawning salmon and other fish populations to survive. There are remnants of old mining sites along the river. The town of Happy Camp, first settled in 1851, was named for its fruitful yields of gold. The Klamath River was used by the Quicksilver Mining Co. in the late 19th century where they extracted mercury and

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

located up Beaver Creek. Tunnels that were dug to extract gold were later used by bootleggers of whiskey. In 2022, the McKinney Fire destroyed most of the structures in the town, leaving only a handful of homes.

Wildlife and the environment

Klamath River hosts the largest deer herd in California, and the largest concentrations of ducks and geese on the North American continent. There are also many black bear, elk, bobcat, mountain lion, raccoon, quail, grouse, pheasant, squirrel, kit fox, river otter, beaver, badger, porcupine, weasel, skunks, coyotes, a variety of toads and frogs, blue herons, bald and American eagles, along with over 200 species of birds. Historically, the Klamath River was the third largest salmon water-shed on the west coast. The weather in Siskiyou County varies with the seasons, with summer temperatures of , while in the winter, it can drop as low as with a high of .

References

External links

Klamath River, California history
Unincorporated communities in California Unincorporated communities in Siskiyou County, California {{SiskiyouCountyCA-geo-stub