Mount Shasta (also known as Mount Shasta City) is a city in

Siskiyou County, California Siskiyou County ( ) is a county (United States), county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka, California, Yre ...

, United States, at about above sea level on the flanks of

Mount Shasta Mount Shasta ( ; Shasta people, Shasta: ''Waka-nunee-Tuki-wuki''; Karuk language, Karuk: ''Úytaahkoo'') is a Volcano#Volcanic activity, potentially active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. A ...

, a prominent northern California landmark. The city is less than southwest of the summit of its namesake volcano. Its population is 3,223 as of the 2020 census, down from 3,394 from the 2010 census.

History

The site of the present-day city of Mount Shasta was within the range of the Okwanuchu tribe of Native Americans. During the 1820s, early Euro-American trappers and hunters first passed through the area, following the path of the

Siskiyou Trail The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to the Columbia River in Washington State; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. Originally based on existing Native American foot trails winding their way through ri ...

. The Siskiyou Trail was based on a network of ancient Native American footpaths connecting California and the Pacific Northwest. The discovery of gold at nearby

Yreka, California Yreka ( ) is a city in and 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 census, the population was 7,807, reflecting an increase from 7, ...

in 1851 dramatically increased traffic along the Siskiyou Trail and through the site of present-day Mount Shasta. Pioneer Ross McCloud built one of the first lumber mills in the area, near the site of the present Sisson Museum. The completion of a stagecoach road between Yreka and

Upper Soda Springs Upper Soda Springs is on the banks of the Sacramento River in Dunsmuir, California, USA. It consists of approximately 15 acres (60,000 m2) of level ground on both sides of the River, the surrounding hillsides, and continues north along the easter ...

in the late 1850s led to the building of Sisson's Hotel, as a stop for weary travelers, and as a staging ground for adventuresome tourists intending to climb Mount Shasta. The area where the town grew was known first as Strawberry Valley, and then as Berryvale. The post office opened in 1870 as Berryvale. After 1886 it was known as Sisson after a local businessman, Justin Hinckley Sisson who ran a stagecoach inn and tavern,

Strawberry Valley Station Strawberry Valley Stage Station was Stagecoach station from 1857 to 1886. Strawberry Valley Stage Station is in Siskiyou County, California. Strawberry Valley Station is a California Historical Landmark No. 396 listed on March 9, 1948. At the Str ...

, as well as donated the land for the town site and the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...

station in 1886. Street names honor members of Sisson's family. The 1887 completion of the

, built along the line of the Siskiyou Trail, brought a dramatic increase in tourism, lumbering, and population into Mount Shasta. This early development continued to focus on tourism and lumbering. The early 1900s saw the influx of a large number of Italian immigrants to Mount Shasta and neighboring towns, most of whom were employed in the timber industry. The city incorporated on May 31, 1905. The name of the city was finalized "City of Mount Shasta" on November 10, 1925, after a popular vote in 1922.

Geography

Mount Shasta is located at 41°18'52" North, 122°18'41" West (41.314542, -122.311510), along

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

south of

Weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

and north of

Dunsmuir, California Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, California. It is on the upper Sacramento River. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 1,650 from the 2010 United States census, 2010 census. Dunsmuir is curren ...

. 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 , of which is land and only 0.10% of it is covered by water. The area hydrology consists of an unnamed stream in the south part of town which joins Big Springs Creek, which then flows south as Cold Creek to join the headwaters of the South Fork of the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River () is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River D ...

. The typical depth to

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and Pore space in soil, soil pore spaces and in the fractures of stratum, rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available fresh water in the world is groundwater. A unit ...

is quite shallow in the predominant alluvium. The settlement is on the distal gently sloping southwest flanks of Mount Shasta, with the chief surficial soils being

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

alluvium Alluvium (, ) is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluvium is also sometimes called alluvial deposit. Alluvium is ...

. This alluvium is adjacent to and probably underlain by

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

clastic rock deposited by Mount Shasta in the course of its development. Groundwater elevation is approximately at the elevation of the underlying native black

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

soil. Where it occurs this peat, of approximately two feet thickness, is underlain by stream deposit sands and gravels.

Climate

Mount Shasta to the east forces moisture out of the air as it rises and cools, and the dip in the

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 ...

allows more moisture to reach inland, so the city receives more precipitation than the semiarid region to the north. This means that in the winter, the city gets nearly of snowfall despite its low elevation. Other towns in the region get much less snow, for example

Yreka Yreka ( ) is a city in and 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 census, the population was 7,807, reflecting an increase from 7,7 ...

averages only , and much cooler

Klamath Falls 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 wa ...

only . The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

is ''Csb'', or warm-summer Mediterranean climate. It can be very warm and cold according to the Californian summer anex. The USDA

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

is 7b. The record high temperature was on July 29, 2022, and the record low temperature was on December 22, 1990.Mount Shasta, California Monthly - Weather Averages Summary
Weatherbase, accessed April 23, 2013 The wettest “rain year” was from July 1997 to June 1998 with and the driest from July 1976 to June 1977 with . The most rainfall in one month was in January 1995, including on January 9. The most snowfall in one year was in 1952, including in January 1952. The most snow on the ground was on December 31, 1992.

Demographics

2020

The 2020 United States census reported that Mount Shasta had a population of 3,223. The population density was . The racial makeup of Mount Shasta was 82.8%

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 ...

, 1.5%

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 ...

, 0.9% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.1%

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 ...

, 2.4% from other races, and 10.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino ''Hispanic'' and '' Latino'' are ethnonyms used to refer collectively to the inhabitants of the United States who are of Spanish or Latin American ancestry (). While many use the terms interchangeably, for example, the United States Census Bureau ...

of any race were 8.8% of the population. The census reported that 99.6% of the population lived in households, 0.4% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and no one was institutionalized. There were 1,662 households, out of which 20.7% included children under the age of 18, 31.6% were married-couple households, 7.8% were

cohabiting Cohabitation is an arrangement where people who are not legally married live together as a couple. They are often involved in a romantic or sexually intimate relationship on a long-term or permanent basis. Such arrangements have become incr ...

couple households, 35.9% had a female householder with no partner present, and 24.7% had a male householder with no partner present. 44.9% of households were one person, and 25.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 1.93. There were 802

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

(48.3% of all households). The age distribution was 16.6% under the age of 18, 6.1% aged 18 to 24, 20.7% aged 25 to 44, 27.4% aged 45 to 64, and 29.2% who were 65years of age or older. The median age was 50.3years. For every 100 females, there were 91.0 males. There were 1,906 housing units at an average density of , of which 1,662 (87.2%) were occupied. Of these, 50.2% were owner-occupied, and 49.8% were occupied by renters. In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $48,157, 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 $32,291. About 6.8% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line.

2010

The 2010 United States Census reported that Mount Shasta had a population of 3,394. The population density was . The racial makeup of Mount Shasta was 3,041 (89.6%)

, 61 (1.8%)

, 19 (0.6%) Native American, 56 (1.6%) Asian, 2 (0.1%)

, 51 (1.5%) from other races, and 164 (4.8%) from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 277 persons (8.2%). The Census reported that 3,358 people (98.9% of the population) lived in households, 6 (0.2%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 30 (0.9%) were institutionalized. There were 1,664 households, out of which 401 (24.1%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 537 (32.3%) were married couples, 190 (11.4%) had a female householder with no husband present, 84 (5.0%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 113 (6.8%) unmarried couples, and only 9 (0.5%) same-sex couples. 719 households (43.2%) were made up of individuals, and 285 (17.1%) had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.02. There were 811

(48.7% of all households); the average family size was 2.79. The population was spread out, with 692 people (20.4%) under the age of 18, 242 people (7.1%) aged 18 to 24, 732 people (21.6%) aged 25 to 44, 1,109 people (32.7%) aged 45 to 64, and 619 people (18.2%) who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.6 males. There were 1,895 housing units at an average density of , of which 781 (46.9%) were owner-occupied, and 883 (53.1%) were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 2.5%; the rental vacancy rate was 5.8%. 1,699 people (50.1% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 1,659 people (48.9%) lived in rental housing units.

Economy

The city of Mount Shasta is located in the

Shasta Cascade The Shasta Cascade region of California is located in the northeastern and north-central sections of the state bordering Oregon and Nevada, including far northern parts of the Central Valley (California), Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada mou ...

area 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 ...

.Welcome to Mount Shasta
Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce, accessed April 23, 2013 Visitors use the city as a base for

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

in the nearby

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, McCloud and Klamath rivers, for

climbing Climbing is the activity of using one's hands, feet, or other parts of the body to ascend a steep topographical object that can range from the world's tallest mountains (e.g. the eight thousanders) to small boulders. Climbing is done for locom ...

at Mount Shasta,

Castle Crags Castle Crags is a dramatic and well-known rock formation in Northern California. Elevations range from along the Sacramento River near the base of the crags, to over at the summit of the tallest crag. Located just west of Interstate 5, betwe ...

or 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 R ...

, or to view scenery.Outdoor recreational activities in area
accessed February 24, 2008 Both

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 P ...

and cross-country skiingMount Shasta
Skiing the Cascade Volcanoes, accessed April 23, 2013 runs are available nearby as well as biking or

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

to waterfalls, streams and lakes in the area, including nearby

Mossbrae Falls Mossbrae Falls is a waterfall flowing into the Sacramento River, in the Shasta Cascade area in Dunsmuir, California, United States. The falls are located just south of the lower portion of Shasta Springs. Access to the falls is via a mile-long i ...

Lake Siskiyou Lake Siskiyou is a reservoir formed by Box Canyon DamBox Canyon Dam
NPDP Da ...

, Castle Lake and

Shasta Lake Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth-tallest dam in the US. Sh ...

Government

The city council of Mount Shasta is composed of seven officials: five city council members, a City Treasurer and a City Clerk who are elected at large and serve a four-year term.Elected Officials
City of Mount Shasta, 2014 The Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore are elected each year from the five council members and serve a one-year term. Kathy Morter is currently serving as Mayor of Mount Shasta until November 2018, with Timothy Stearns serving as Mayor Pro Tem. In the

state legislature A state legislature is a Legislature, legislative branch or body of a State (country subdivision), political subdivision in a Federalism, federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of ...

Mount Shasta is in , and . Federally, Mount Shasta is in .

Media

KHWA KHWA (102.3 FM) is a radio station based in Mount Shasta, California (city of license is Weed, California), owned by Southern Oregon University and operated by Jefferson Public Radio, which also owns KSYC-FM in Yreka. KHWA broadcasts to the Sis ...

99.3/102.3 FM

Jefferson Public Radio Jefferson Public Radio (JPR) is a regional public radio broadcasting network serving over a million potential listeners in Southern Oregon and the Shasta Cascade region of northern California. Owned by Southern Oregon University, the network ...

, Mount Shasta * KZRO-FM 100.1 Mount Shasta *

KKLC KKLC (107.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Contemporary Christian format. Licensed to Fall River Mills, California, United States. The station is currently owned by Educational Media Foundation. History The station signed on the air in ...

107.9

K-LOVE K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music. As of June 2019, the network's progr ...

, Fall River Mills * KNSQ-FM 88.1

, Mount Shasta * KLDD-FM 91.9

, Mount Shasta * KMJC-AM 620

, Mount Shasta * '' Mount Shasta Herald'' *

Vyve Broadband Northland Communications (formerly known as Northland Cable Television) was an American cable television, telephone and internet service provider with systems in various portions of the United States. Northland Communications currently owns and ...

* MCTV 15 Mountain Community Television/

Siskiyou Media Council Siskiyou may refer to: *Siskiyou Mountains, a mountain range in northern California and southern Oregon *Siskiyou National Forest, in Oregon and California *Siskiyou County, California *Siskiyou Trail, an old Native American and pioneer trail connec ...

Notable people

Terry Huntingdon Terry Lynn Huntingdon is an American actress and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss USA 1959. She represented the United States at Miss Universe 1959, where as finished 2nd Runner-Up. Early years Huntingdon comes from a family of ...

– Miss California USA 1959, Miss USA 1959 *

Ann Little Ann Little (born Mary Hankins Brooks; February 7, 1891 – May 21, 1984), also known as Anna Little, was an American film actress whose career was most prolific during the silent film era of the early 1910s through the early 1920s. Today, mos ...

– silent-film actress *

Anita Loos Corinne Anita Loos (April 26, 1888 – August 18, 1981) was an American actress, novelist, playwright and screenwriter. In 1912, she became the first female staff screenwriter in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood, when D. W. Griffith put h ...

– writer and author of the screenplay ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' was born in Sisson (now Mount Shasta) in 1888 *

Tony Olmos Tony Olmos is a Mexican-American filmmaker and musician who is the creator of the films Continuance (film), ''Continuance'' (2021) and ''South of 8'' (2016), and directed ''Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea'' (2023), ''Fletcher and Jenks'' ...

– film director and screenwriter * Jason Sehorn – former

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

, graduated Mount Shasta High School in 1989 * D. J. Wilson –

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player, first-round selection in

2017 NBA draft The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players. ...

; born in Mount Shasta

References

External links

* *
Museum of the Siskiyou TrailImages of Mount Shasta
from th
Eastman’s Originals CollectionSpecial Collections Dept.
University of California, Davis. {{Authority control 1905 establishments in California Cities in Siskiyou County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Mount Shasta Populated places established in 1905 Populated places on the Sacramento River Shasta Cascade