Klamath Basin

The Klamath Basin is the region in the U.S. states of Oregon and California drained by the Klamath River. It contains most of Klamath County and parts of Lake and Jackson counties in Oregon, and parts of Del Norte, Humboldt, Modoc, Siskiyou, and Trinity counties in California. The 15,751-square-mile (40,790 km²) drainage basin is 35% in Oregon and 65% in California. In Oregon, the watershed typically lies east of the Cascade Range, while California contains most of the river's segment that passes through the mountains. In the Oregon-far northern California segment of the river, the watershed is semi-desert at lower elevations and dry alpine in the upper elevations. In the western part of the basin, in California, however, the climate is more of temperate rainforest, and the Trinity River watershed consists of a more typical alpine climate.

Distribution of subwatersheds

The drainage basins of the Williamson and Sprague Rivers, in Oregon, are to the north and northeast of Upper Klamath Lake. Together, the two watersheds cover 3,069 square miles (7,950 km²), or 19.4% of the Klamath River watershed.^[1][2][3] The basin of the Lost River, the largest subwatershed by area, lies to the southeast of Upper Klamath Lake and to the east of Lower Klamath Lake. This covers 3,009 square miles (7,790 km²) or 19.1% of the Klamath River watershed - nearly as much as the Williamson and Sprague. Proceeding west, the adjoining Butte Creek, Shasta, Scott and Salmon River watersheds have 603 square miles (1,560 km²), 795 square miles (2,060 km²), 813 square miles (2,110 km²), and 750 square miles (1,900 km²), respectively. These account for 4.3%, 5%, 5.2%. and 5% of the Klamath River watershed, respectively, or 19.5% of the watershed if put together.^[1][2][3]

Further southwest, the watershed of the Trinity River, the second largest subwatershed of the Klamath, has 2,965 square miles (7,680 km²) or 19% of the watershed. The watershed of the South Fork Trinity River is 980 square miles (2,500 km²) - 33% of the Trinity watershed or 6% of the Klamath watershed. The primary tributaries of the Klamath together account for 77% of the total Klamath watershed - the remaining land area is drained by smaller tributaries such as Jenny Creek, Fall Creek and Blue Creek.^[1][2][3]

Major bodies of water

Upper Klamath Lake is the largest present-day body of water in the Klamath River watershed, covering 96 square miles (250 km²) on average, with a shoreline of 87 miles (140 km). It is also the largest freshwater lake in the state of Oregon.^[4] Historically, Lower Klamath Lake and Tule Lake were one interconnected freshwater marsh that totaled 195 square miles (510 km²) - more than twice the present-day dimensions of Upper Klamath Lake, and larger than Lake Tahoe in central California. This interconnected wetland still supports up to 3.7 million migrating birds per year.^[5] In wet years, the two lakes would connect to Upper Klamath Lake, forming one huge body of water. These lakes occupy the basin that was prehistorically occupied by Lake Modoc, a 1,100-square-mile (2,800 km²) freshwater lake that covered the entire Upper Klamath Basin, or 7% of the watershed - an area three times larger than the massive Salton Sea in southern California. This lake existed up to 11,000 years ago at the end of the most recent ice age.^[6] Today, Upper Klamath Lake encompasses just 0.6% of the Klamath watershed.

There are also several entirely artificial bodies of water in the watershed - including Lake Ewauna, J.C. Boyle Reservoir, Copco Lake, and Iron Gate Reservoir on the main Klamath.^[7] Lake Ewauna, also called Keno Reservoir, is 3.8 square miles (9.8 km²) in size, and is about 20 miles (32 km) long.^[8] The J.C. Boyle Reservoir is much smaller, with a surface area of 0.65 square miles (1.7 km²).^[9] Copco Reservoir is about 5.4 miles (8.7 km) long and is 1 square mile (2.6 km²) in area.^[10] Iron Gate Reservoir covers 1.4 square miles (3.6 km²) and is about 6.8 miles (10.9 km) long.^[11] Together, the four lower mainstem reservoirs total just 6.85 square miles (17.7 km²), or 0.04% of the Klamath River watershed.

Trinity Lake, on the mainstem of the Trinity River, is the largest tributary reservoir in the Klamath River watershed. At 25 square miles (65 km²) in size, it is larger than all four mainstem Klamath reservoirs combined (excluding Upper Klamath Lake).^[12]

Watershed

The Klamath Basin watershed includes:

These three rivers are located above (north) of the Klamath Lake basin:

• Sprague River, Oregon
• Williamson River, Oregon
• Sycan River, Oregon

These features are inside or near the Klamath Lake basin:

• Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon
• Link River, Oregon
• Agency Lake, Oregon
• Lost River, Oregon, California
• Clear Lake Reservoir, California
• Tule Lake, California
• Lower Klamath Lake, California

These are the major downstream tributaries of the Klamath River:

• Butte Creek, California, Oregon
• Shasta River, California
• Scott River, California
• Salmon River, California
• Trinity River, California

Communities

Communities in the Klamath Basin include:

• Bly, Oregon
• Beatty, Oregon
• Bonanza, Oregon
• Chiloquin, Oregon
• Klamath Falls, Oregon
• Sprague River, Oregon
• Weaverville, California
• Yreka, California

See also

• Crater Lake
• Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges Complex
• Klamath National Forest
• Klamath Reclamation Project
• Modoc National Forest
• Shasta-Trinity National Forest

References

External links

• Klamath Waters Digital Library from Oregon Institute of Technology
• Map of Klamath Basin from The Wilderness Society

Coordinates: 42°N 122°W / 42°N 122°W / 42; -122

v t e Klamath River States and counties Oregon Klamath Lake Jackson California Siskiyou Modoc Humboldt Trinity Del Norte Significant cities Klamath Falls Happy Camp Weitchpec Orleans Klamath Glen Klamath Major tributaries Williamson River Sprague River Lost River Butte Creek Shasta River Scott River Salmon River Trinity River Geography Upper Klamath Lake Lower Klamath Lake Tule Lake Klamath Basin Trinity Lake Mount Shasta Klamath Mountains Trinity Alps Cascade Range Six Rivers National Forest Klamath National Forest Lava Beds National Monument Native American tribes Yurok Modoc Karuk Hupa Yahooskin History California Gold Rush Hudson's Bay Company Klamath County Klamath Diversion Klamath Indian Reservation Klamath Reclamation Project Modoc War Siskiyou Trail Dams and infrastructure Link River Dam Keno Dam J.C. Boyle Dam Copco Dam #1 Copco Dam #2 Iron Gate Dam California State Route 96 California State Route 169