26 Facts About Klamath River

Unlike most rivers, the Klamath begins in the high desert and flows toward the mountains – carving its way through the rugged Cascade Range and Klamath Mountains before reaching the sea.

The watershed is known for this peculiar geography, and the Klamath has been called "a river upside down" by National Geographic magazine.

The first Europeans to enter the Klamath River basin were fur trappers for the Hudson's Bay Company in the 1820s; they established the Siskiyou Trail along the Klamath and Trinity rivers into the Sacramento Valley.

Today, the Klamath is a popular recreational river as well as an important source of water for agriculture.

Environmental groups and native tribes have proposed broad changes to water use in the Klamath Basin, including the removal of some dams on the river to expand fish habitat.

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The Klamath River then enters California, where it passes through three more hydroelectric plants and turns south near the town of Hornbrook towards Mount Shasta.

The mouth of the Klamath River is at Requa, in an area shared by the Yurok Reservation and Redwood National Park.

The Klamath River estuary is recognized for protection by the California Bays and Estuaries Policy.

The south side of the Klamath River watershed is bounded by the Sacramento River and its upper tributaries, including the Pit River, and on the southwest side are the Mad River and Redwood Creek.

The western boundary of the upper Klamath River Basin is formed by the High Cascades and the Klamath River Mountains, and the California Coast Ranges cover the southwestern watershed.

The Klamath is one of only three rivers that begins east of the Cascades and flows into the Pacific Ocean; the other two are the Columbia and the Fraser.

This, combined with the over 100 square miles of Upper Klamath River Lake, formed a temporary habitat for millions of migratory birds.

Lower and middle sections of the Klamath River are vulnerable to flooding, and major floods have occurred in years where major flooding has taken place in Northern California, particularly in the wake of Pineapple Express storms that bring large amounts of warm rain to Northern California.

Upper Klamath Basin, defined by the drainage area of the Klamath River above Iron Gate Dam, is a unique transitional area between the Cascade Range to the west and the Basin and Range Province of the northern Great Basin to the southeast.

Beaver dams had previously been an important factor in stream habitat in the Klamath River watershed, helping to moderate the power of floods and creating extensive wetlands.

Gold deposits are still present in the Klamath River watershed even though it was mined far past the end of the gold rush.

Many more members of the Klamath River tribes were displaced or killed in the destruction of villages and a series of wars over territory, among other threats.

Into the 20th century, many Klamath River children were separated from their tribes and families and forced to attend boarding schools which attempted to assimilate the children by forcing them to speak English and dress in Western clothing and eat Western foods.

The steamboats completed a link between Klamath Falls and a railroad branch line following the McCloud River—the final part of which was called the Bartle Fast Freight Road, after Bartle, California.

Klamath River tribes consist of the Klamath, Yurok, Karuk, Hupa, and Shasta.

The Klamath River and United States federal government created a treaty in 1864 which gave the Klamath River sovereign rights to the new reservation.

The Klamath River Reservation covers around 300 acres along the western coast.

Klamath River is considered a prime habitat for anadromous Chinook salmon, coho salmon, and steelhead trout .

Coho salmon in the Klamath River are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Klamath River Tribe called upon their in-stream water right, which was enforced by the Water Master.

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Once the Upper Klamath Basin is opened up for salmon migration this will create a more diverse river ecosystem, providing more opportunities for recreational fishing and new economic opportunities like guided salmon fishing tours.