Siskiyou Mountains

The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately Template:Convert from east of Crescent City, California, northeast along the north side of the Klamath River into Josephine and Jackson counties in Oregon. The mountain range forms a barrier between the watersheds of the Klamath River to the south and the Rogue River to the north. Accordingly, much of the range is within the Rogue River – Siskiyou and Klamath national forests, and the Pacific Crest Trail follows a portion of the crest of the Siskiyous.

These mountains are not the highest of the Klamath Mountains, but because of the relief so close to the Pacific Ocean, the peaks receive significant precipitation from the ocean, including wintertime snow on the peaks. Western canyons can receive over Template:Convert of rain in some winters and are densely forested, while eastern areas are more arid.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The greatly varied topography and climate contribute to high biodiversity, and the Siskiyous are noted for a number of endemic species.

Name origins

The origin of the word siskiyou is unclear. One version is that it is the Chinook Jargon word for "bob-tailed horse". According to historian Richard Mackie, "siskiyou" was a Cree word for a bob-tailed horse,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> one of which perished in 1829 during Alexander McLeod's journey over a pass later named for the "siskiyou" (today's Siskiyou Pass). The Cree were in the area as part of McLeod's Hudson's Bay Company expedition, and had been recruited far away in their homeland in eastern Canada.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Another version, given in an argument before the State Senate in 1852, is that the French name Six Cailloux, meaning "six-stones", was given to a ford on the Umpqua River by Michel Laframboise and a party of Hudson's Bay Company trappers in 1832, because six large stones or rocks lay in the river where they crossed.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> According to some, the Six Cailloux name was appropriated to this region by Stephen Meek, another Hudson's Bay Company trapper who was known for his "discovery" of Scott Valley, in regard to a crossing on the Klamath River near Hornbrook.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Still others attribute the name to the multiple nations of Native Americans.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> that share geography with California and Oregon speaking the Athapaskan Language

History

Indigenous People from multiple Nations that share geography with California and Oregon speaking the Athapaskan Language lived along the Rogue River prior to 1850. These communities were primarily winter residences, and the Indigenous People likely spent much of the summer in the mountains.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early Colonization

Most early colonization of the area came from the coast, beginning in 1775, when the Spanish lieutenant Bruno de Heceta came to the Northwest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He would be followed in 1791 and 1792 by other colonizers like captain George Vancouver, James Baker, and Robert Gray. The early western overland colonizations all avoided the area around the Oregon–California border. The first land-based colonization came when the North West Company came to the area in 1820, followed by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821.Template:Citation needed

The Siskiyou Trail

The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley through the Siskiyous to Oregon's Willamette Valley. Originally based on existing foot trails made by Native American that share geography with California and Oregon speaking the Athapaskan Language, winding their way through river valleys, the Siskiyou Trail provided the shortest practical travel path between early settlements in California and Oregon in the 1820s.Template:Citation needed

New Colonization and early industry

As colonization increased with a variety of new incentives, tensions over relations with Indigenous People from multiple Nations that share geography with California and Oregon already living in the area increased. In the 1850s, following the Donation Land Claim Act,<ref name="Cessna2011">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> miners came to the area to prospect for gold. Thousands of miners flooded into the area as profitable claims were made. The new settlements grew enough for Jackson County to be founded, with its seat in Jacksonville, in 1853. The large and sudden influx of white population deteriorated the relationship with the natives in the area.<ref name = "Davidson2005">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="Tveskov2001">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Dead link</ref> This led to the 1855 Rogue River Wars, which ended in 1856.<ref name = "LaLande1980">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The new population of colonists needed to be supported by an improved infrastructure. By 1859, the trail had been replaced by a toll road. A telegraph line was built over the summit in 1864.<ref name = "Tveskov2001"/> By the end of the 1870s, the first private lumber mills were established in the mountains had been established in some of the lower creeks.<ref name = "Lamm1957">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Commercial orchards began to be planted in 1885.<ref name="JacksonCount2010">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The Southern Pacific Railroad was completed over Siskiyou Summit in 1887.<ref name = "Tveskov2001"/> The new railroads were focused around Medford.<ref name = "Davidson2005"/>

Industry develops

The Klamath Lake Railroad Company built a railroad into Pokegama from 1900 to 1903. It became a vital part of the lumber industry and was acquired by Weyerhaeuser in 1905.<ref name = "Lamm1957"/> Irrigation projects that began at the end of the 19th century led to a boom in the fruit orchard industry.<ref name = "LaLande1980"/> Apple blights around 1900 diminished the crop and pears began to be a major crop.<ref name = "LaLande1993">Template:Cite thesis</ref> By 1910, pears had begun to replace apples as the major fruit grown in the region.<ref name = "OSUPears">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1927, the Jackson County seat moved to Medford, which had become much larger than Jacksonville.<ref name = "Davidson2005"/>

Geography

The Red Buttes in the Siskiyou Mountains

The highest peaks in the range include Mount Ashland at an elevation of Template:Convert,<ref name = "USDAFS">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Dutchman Peak at Template:Convert, Siskiyou Peak at Template:Convert, and Wagner Butte at Template:Convert, all of which are in Oregon.<ref name = "LaLande1995">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The highest peak in the California portion of the range is Preston Peak at Template:Convert. There are also several lower mountains, including Ben Johnson Mountain, which reaches Template:Convert. The main drainage basins in the mountains are those of the Rogue and Klamath rivers.<ref name="Anderson1997">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Siskiyou Summit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Interstate 5 passes through the Siskiyou Mountains at Siskiyou Summit, located just north of the Oregon-California border, and just south of Ashland, Oregon. Siskiyou Summit is the highest pass on Interstate 5, at Template:Convert. This pass is one of the most treacherous in the Interstate highway system. The California side has a more gradual slope than the Oregon side, where the freeway climbs or descends Template:Convert in elevation over about Template:Convert. In addition, the pass includes several hazardous curves, and is frequently hit with snow, ice, and fog during winter storms. In winter, it is common for the highway to be closed one to four times per year by transportation authorities because of hazardous conditions. The speed limit is Template:Convert, but lower limits are set for larger vehicles.Template:Citation needed

Climate

The climate of the mountains is distinctive in how it varies from the coast to the inland slopes. Generally, the mountains see milder temperatures and more precipitation nearer to the coast.<ref name = "USDAFS"/> The interior is drier and warmer in the summer months, and the eastern slopes resemble an interior climate.<ref name = "Whittaker1960">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The coast tends to receive about Template:Convert of precipitation each year, rising to Template:Convert at the peaks. The arid eastern areas receive around Template:Convert annually.<ref name = "USDAFS"/> Precipitation is greatest in the winter and least in the summer.<ref name = "Whittaker1960"/> Fogs provide an additional source of water at low elevations near the coast, especially in summer. Most precipitation at lower elevations comes as rain. At higher elevations, snow is a major source of water.<ref name = "USDAFS"/>

Temperature tends to change most in the east–west direction because of the ocean's major influence.<ref name = "Whittaker1960"/> The mean annual temperature is around Template:Convert at low elevations. Higher in the mountains and farther east, the temperatures range from overnight lows just above freezing to highs around Template:Convert.

Ecology

There is considerable biodiversity within the Siskiyou Mountains, including extensive forests. Forests vary by elevation and relative locations, being primarily divided into mixed evergreen forests, montane forests, and subalpine forests.<ref name = "Whittaker1960"/>

Flora

The weeping spruce (Picea breweriana) is found only in the Klamath Mountains.

The occurrences of tree species are divided by these forest types. Exceptions to this exist. Coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii subsp. menziesii) occurs in both mixed evergreen and montane forests. Lawson's cypress (also known as Port Orford cedar, Chamaecypraris lawsoniana) occurs throughout the range west of the summit.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> California white fir (Abies concolor subsp. lowiana) occurs in montane and subalpine forests above Template:Convert. In the montane forest, occurring in the snowzone, sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) also occurs. The subalpine forests above Template:Convert include mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) and Shasta red fir (A. magnifica subsp. shastensis) in addition to Douglas-fir.<ref name = "Anderson1997"/> Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) is dominant only in montane forests on steep south-facing slopes, but also grows with California black oak (Quercus kelloggii) and in mixed evergreen forests.<ref name="Warring1968">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Rare Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) grow at low elevations or at higher elevations near sources of water. Other conifers include weeping spruce (Picea breweriana), an endemic species,<ref name="SisCrest">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens).

Various deciduous broadleaf trees grow in addition to the conifers. The largest extant California black oak is found in the Siskiyou Mountains.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The blue oak, Quercus douglasii, is beyond its contiguous range; however, there are disjunctive populations of blue oak within the Siskiyou Mountains.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Invasive species have become a concern in some areas. Some of these include yellow starthistle and scotch broom.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Starthistle has become a problem in the Siskiyous only in the last 20 years.<ref name= "USFSStar">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It has little value to habitat and is able to outcompete many native plants.<ref name="Orloff">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Purple loosestrife is a plant that is invasive to waterways.<ref name = "USFSPurp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Animals

The diversity of fauna in the region is exhibited by the number of amphibian, reptile, and avian species in the region. Many of the amphibian and reptiles are endemic species.<ref name = "Bury1999">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name = "Alexander1999">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The eponymous endangered Siskiyou Mountains salamander is found within this mountain range;<ref name=Yorke>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> there is also the Scott Bar salamander.<ref name = "kswild">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The variety of habitats in the mountains contributes to the number of bird species in the area, because the birds have more variety of habitat available to them.<ref name = "Alexander1999"/> However, many birds disperse from the area following the breeding season.<ref name = "Werschkul1983">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> These birds include the endangered spotted owl, which lives in forests up to Template:Convert.<ref name = "fwsOwl2012">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Endangered salmon live in the Rogue and Klamath watersheds.<ref name = "SisCrest"/>

Mammals in the area include small rodents, deer and elk, and bear and coyote.<ref name = "Werschkul1983"/> Medium-sized mammals also live in the region, including red fox, gray fox, and weasel.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Another rare animal is the fisher, a predatory medium-sized mammal that lives in old-growth forest.

Protected areas

The Siskiyou Mountains have federal protection in several forms. Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve protects Template:Convert in the northern part of the range south of Grants Pass, Oregon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument protects Template:Convert at the junction of the Siskiyou and Cascade ranges. There are three designated wilderness areas in the range in Oregon and California—the Red Buttes Wilderness, which protects Template:Convert; the Kalmiopsis Wilderness, which protects Template:Convert; and the Siskiyou Wilderness, which protects Template:Convert.Template:Citation needed

External links

• ODOT advisory on Siskiyou Pass (PDF)
• Template:Usurped