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The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of

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 ...

as well as parts of

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 ...

and

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. Nearly of the

Modoc National Forest Modoc National Forest is a U.S. national forest in Northeastern California. Geography The Modoc National Forest protects parts of Modoc (82.9% of acreage), Lassen (9.4%), and Siskiyou (7.7%) counties. Most of the forest was covered by immense ...

are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the

Warner Mountains The Warner Mountains are an -long mountain range running north–south through northeastern California and extending into southern Oregon in the United States. The range lies within the northwestern corner of the Basin and Range Province, exte ...

in the east. Its landform is volcanic table land ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level, cut by many north–south faults. "Occasioned lakes, marshes, and sluggishly flowing streams meander across the plateau."‘’California Geologic Provinces,’’ Note 36, page 2
It is a thick accumulation of lava flows and tuff beds, along with many small volcanic cones. It has cinder cones, juniper flats,

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

forests, and seasonal

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 ...

s. The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago as a southern extension of the

Columbia Plateau The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Col ...

flood basalts.

Vegetation and wildlife

Forested areas of the plateau include

Ponderosa Pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

(''Pinus ponderosa''), as well as other tree species such as California Buckeye (''Aesculus californica''). and Modoc Cypress (''Cupressus bakeri''). The plateau supports large herds of

Mule Deer The mule deer (''Odocoileus hemionus'') is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule. Two subspecies of mule deer are grouped into the black-tailed deer. Unlike the related whi ...

(''Odocoileus hemionus''), Rocky Mountain Elk (''Cervus canadensis''), and

Pronghorn The pronghorn (, ) (''Antilocapra americana'') is a species of artiodactyl (even-toed, hoofed) mammal indigenous to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is known colloquially in North America as the American a ...

(''Antilocapra americana''). There are also several herds of wild horses on the plateau. The Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Long Bell State Game Refuge are located on the plateau as well.

Watersheds

The Lost River watershed drains the north part of the plateau, while southern watersheds either collect in basin reservoirs or flow into the large Big Sage Reservoir, which sits in the center of

Modoc County Modoc County () is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county seat ...

References

{{reflist Plateaus of the United States Landforms of California Landforms of the Great Basin California placenames of Native American origin Regions of California Volcanic fields of California Volcanic fields of Nevada Volcanic fields of Oregon Landforms of Modoc County, California Landforms of Lake County, Oregon Landforms of Lassen County, California Landforms of Siskiyou County, California Landforms of Shasta County, California Landforms of Washoe County, Nevada

Vegetation and wildlife

Watersheds

See also

References