Transcript WELCOME TO THE KLAMATH BASIN-PHYSIOGRAPHIC SETTING Prepared by: Renae Burger ES 473 Environmental Geology ABSTRACT This poster is an overview of the Klamath River Basin, designed.

WELCOME TO THE KLAMATH BASIN-PHYSIOGRAPHIC SETTING
Prepared by:
Renae Burger
ES 473 Environmental Geology
ABSTRACT
This poster is an overview of the Klamath River Basin,
designed to familiarize the audience with this area. Maps,
figures, and pictures of this lovely place are provided to
illustrate data. Other information included is a physical
description of the landscape, climate, amount of rainfall,
vegetation types, and other interesting facts.
Physical Description of Landscape
• The Klamath River Basin covers 10.5 million acres, and
spans from southern Oregon to northern California. (Figure 1)
This area is long known for its agriculture, lakes, rivers, and
hunting and fishing opportunities. It is home to 6 federal tribes,
and several National Wildlife Refuges, Parks, and Forests. The
Basin is divided into 2 parts, the upper and lower Klamath
Basins.
• The habitats found in the Klamath Basin include open water,
grassy meadows, freshwater marshes, coniferous forests,
sagebrush and juniper grasslands, rocky cliffs and hills, and
agricultural lands. Over 433 species of birds, fish, and wildlife
reside here.
• The Klamath Basin is also home to the Williamson, Sycan,
Klamath, Trinity, Lost, and Sprague Rivers. It also contains
Crater, Clear, Tule, Upper Klamath, and Lower Klamath Lakes.
Figure 3- Land Use/Land Cover Map of the Klamath
Basin
• National Wildlife Refuges also mark this area. The Bear
Valley, Tule Lake, Clear Lake, Lower Klamath, Upper Klamath,
and the Klamath Marsh Wildlife Refuges attract many visitors
year round.
Figure 2- Location Map of Upper Klamath Basin
Conclusion
The Klamath River Basin is a very beautiful area and I hope
you are now familiar with this lovely place. However, in
addition to the picturesque landscape and wildlife, this area
is also plagued with many disputes concerning water rights,
supply vs. demand, and much more. If you haven’t already
visited this lovely area or one of its several Wildlife
Refuges, I hope you do because it very well could get taken
by the perplexity of society and politics. You’ll be glad you
did!
The Lower Klamath Basin
Within the lower basin, the Klamath River is cut deeply into
bedrock, forming a narrow canyon. The lower basin is also
where most of the valley agriculture land is located.
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The mountains that surround the lower basin, including the
Coast Ranges and Trinity Alps are rugged with conifer and fir
forests. These mountains also produce steep tributary
streams.

Now into the Coast Range region, the climate of the lower
basin is variable with usually very high annual rainfall and mild
temperatures. This rainfall is pertinent to the recharging of this
areas groundwater, and freshwater for irrigation, fishing, and
drinking. (Figure 3)
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The lower Klamath Basin is also home to the Lower
Klamath Basin Wildlife Refuge. Established in 1908 by
Theodore Roosevelt, it was America’s first national waterfowl
refuge. Throughout the 49,600 acres of freshwater marshes,
open water, croplands, and grasslands, many different species
of birds can be seen, as well as various crops. (Figure 4)

Figure 5- One of the lovely freshwater marshes seen all
throughout the Basin.
References Cited
Figure 1-Location Map of the Klamath River Basin
Overview of the Environment-Upper Basin
• The Upper basin extends north and east from the Iron Gate
Dam on the main stem of the Klamath River. (Figure 2) This
area is part of the Great Basin and Range region. It is
dominated by the activity of large volcanoes and active faulting.
This controls the location and shape of the many broad valleys
here. These valleys contain all the natural lakes and large
wetlands of the Klamath Basin. The second deepest lake in
North America, Crater Lake, is one of these grand natural rivers.
Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Committee on Endangered
and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River Basin, Division on Earth and Life
Studies,2004, Endangered and Threatened Fishes in the Klamath River BasinCauses of Decline and Strategies for Recovery : National Academy of Sciences,
Washington D.C., p 1-22
2.
Geography 185 Lecture Notes, 2005, Internet Web
Resource,URL:http://www.geog.ucsb.edu/~joel/g148_f05/lecture_notes/lecture_
notes.html (Last updated September 2005)
3.
United States Geological Survey, Internet Web Resource, URL:
http://www.USGS.gov , (last updated March 17,2006)
4.
Great Basin Visitors Association, Klamath County Oregon, Internet Web
Resource, URL: http://www.greatbasinvisitor.info/index.htm (Last updated May
1,2006)
• This area has a relatively dry, high desert climate with little
rainfall, typical of areas that lie east of the Cascade Range.
• The upper basin is also home to six wildlife refuges, the
most notable being the Upper Klamath Refuge which was
established in 1928. This 15,000 acres of freshwater marshes
and rivers are home to many species of birds and animals.
1.
Figure 4- Average Annual Rainfall (cm) of the Klamath
Basin Area. Note the difference between the Upper
and Lower area amounts.
5.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges
Complex, Internet Web Resource, URL:
http://www.fws.gov/klamathbasinrefuges/ (Last updated April 13,2006)
6.
United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation
Service National Water and Climate Center, Internet Web resource, URL:
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/special/klamath.pl (Last Updated May 29,2006)
7.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Internet Web Resource, URL:
http://www.epa.gov/ (Last Updated May 30,2006)