Alturas (
Spanish for "Heights";
Achumawi: ''Kasalektawi'')
is the only incorporated city in
Modoc County, California
Modoc County () is a county (United States), county located 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 ...
of which it is also the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
. Located in the
Shasta Cascade region of
Northern California
Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
, the city had a population of 2,715 at the
2020 census. Alturas is located at the confluence of the south and north forks of the
Pit River, east of the center of Modoc County,
at an elevation of .
Alturas is one of the largest cities in the region and a local economic hub.
History
Alturas occupies what was initially an
Achumawi (Pit River) village known as Kosealekte
or Kasalektawi. The city was initially known as Dorris Bridge or Dorris' Bridge, named after Pressley and James Dorris, who built a bridge across the Pit River at this location.
The Dorris Bridge post office opened in 1871.
The town was renamed Dorrisville in 1874
and Alturas in 1876, the latter meaning "heights" in Spanish.
The census of 1880 showed a population of 148. However, settlement continued over the next two decades, until the city was
incorporated on September 16, 1901. Because of its central location, Dorrisville became the county seat when
Modoc County formed in 1874, even though both
Adin and
Cedarville were then larger towns.
Geography
Alturas straddles the North Fork of the
Pit River, near its confluence with the South Fork in the north end of South Fork Valley, in the extreme northeastern corner of California at .
The tall
Warner Mountains lie to the east, the
wetlands
A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...
and
wild rice fields of South Fork Valley to the south, and the extensive
Modoc Plateau to the north.
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of and 0.63% of it is covered by water.
Climate
The climate in Alturas is cold
semi-arid (
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''BSk''), bordering
humid continental (''Dsb''). The average January temperatures are a high of and a low of . The average July temperatures are a high of and a low of . There are an average of 39.8 days with highs of or higher and an average of 195.5 days with lows of or lower. The record high was on July 19, 1960, and July 10–11, 2002, and the record low was on December 9, 1972. Freezing temperatures have occurred in every month of the year; cool nights are common even on the hottest summer days.
Precipitation averages annually. There are an average of 90.8 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1952 with and the driest year was 2013 with . The most precipitation in one month was in October 1962, and the most in 24 hours was on December 11, 1937. Snowfall averages per season. The most snowfall in a season was in 1952.
Demographics

The
2020 United States census reported that Alturas had a population of 2,715. The population density was . The racial makeup of Alturas was 78.0%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.1%
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 4.1%
Native American, 1.3%
Asian, 0.3%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 6.0% from
other races, and 9.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.3% of the population.
The census reported that 99.2% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.6% were institutionalized.
There were 1,199 households, out of which 31.6% included children under the age of 18, 35.2% were married-couple households, 7.9% were
cohabiting couple households, 35.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 21.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.6% of households were one person, and 17.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.25. There were 702
families (58.5% of all households).
The age distribution was 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% aged 18 to 24, 24.5% aged 25 to 44, 24.6% aged 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 38.9years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males.
There were 1,393 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,199 (86.1%) were occupied. Of these, 55.6% were owner-occupied, and 44.4% were occupied by renters.
In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $54,634, and the
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $31,725.
Economy

Alturas is the headquarters to the
Modoc National Forest, the Applegate Field Office of the
Bureau of Land Management, the
Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and other recreation areas, and is the trade center for the agricultural region, which produces beef, sheep, potatoes, alfalfa and lumber. Despite its abundance of wilderness, recreational opportunities, hunting and fishing resources, and natural environment, tourism is not a major sector of the local economy – largely due to the city's remote location.
Local, State, Federal, and Tribal governments are the largest employers in Alturas. A vibrant timber industry collapsed in the early 1980s due to increased production costs and low market prices for softwood lumber.
The
Modoc Joint Unified School District is headquartered in Alturas.
The
Alturas Rancheria, a band of Pit River Indians, operates a small casino just outside the city limits.
Government
In the
California State Legislature, Alturas is in , and .
In the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
, Alturas is in .
Transportation

Alturas is served by
U.S. Route 395 and
California State Route 299. U.S. 395 comes in from the south from
Susanville and
Reno. State Route 299 comes in from the west from
Redding. Both highways merge in Alturas and head out of the city as a
concurrency northeast toward
Lakeview, Oregon; and
Cedarville, respectively.
The Modoc Subdivision track of the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
and the
Lake County Railroad (of
Lake County, Oregon) serve the area.
Alturas Municipal Airport is a public-use,
general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...
facility located west of the city's central business district.
Notable people
*
Kayte Christensen,
WNBA basketball player
*
Ernest S. Brown, former United States Senator from Nevada
*
John E. Raker (1863–1926), Congressman from California (served 1911–1926) and author of the
Raker Act
*
Robert "Top Gun" Hight,
NHRA drag racer
John Force Racing
See also
*
Modoc County Historical Museum
*
California Historical Landmarks in Modoc County
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
Cities in Modoc County, California
County seats in California
Incorporated cities and towns in California