Siskiyou County, California | |
---|---|
County of Siskiyou | |
Images, from top down, left to right: Mount Shasta, the historic West Miner Street in Yreka, Indian Tom Lake | |
Motto: "Mountains of Opportunity" | |
![]() Interactive map of Siskiyou County | |
![]() Location in the state of California | |
Coordinates: 41°35′N122°30′W / 41.583°N 122.500°W Coordinates: 41°35′N122°30′W / 41.583°N 122.500°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
Region | Shasta Cascade |
Incorporated | 1852 |
Named for | The Siskiyou Trail |
County seat | Yreka |
Largest city | Yreka |
Government | |
• Type | Council–Administrator |
• Chair | Ed Valenzuela |
• Vice Chair | Michael N. Kobseff |
• Board of Supervisors [1] | Supervisors
|
• County Administrator | Terry Barber |
Area | |
• Total | 6,347 sq mi (16,440 km2) |
• Land | 6,278 sq mi (16,260 km2) |
• Water | 69 sq mi (180 km2) |
Highest elevation | 14,162 ft (4,317 m) |
Population | |
• Total | 44,076 |
• Density | 6.9/sq mi (2.7/km2) |
Time zone | UTC−8 (Pacific Time Zone) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC−7 (Pacific Daylight Time) |
Area code | 530 |
FIPS code | 06-093 |
GNIS feature ID | 277311 |
Website | www |
Siskiyou County ( /ˈsɪskjuː/ ( listen ), SISK-yoo) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. [3] Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. [4] It falls within the Cascadia bioregion. [5]
Siskiyou County is in the Shasta Cascade region along with the Oregon border. Because of its outdoor recreation, Mt. Shasta, McCloud River, and Gold Rush era history, it is an important tourist destination within the state.[ citation needed ]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(September 2013) |
Siskiyou County was created on March 22, 1852, from parts of Shasta and Klamath Counties, and named after the Siskiyou mountain range. Parts of the county's territory were given to Modoc County in 1855.
The county is the site of the central section of the Siskiyou Trail, which ran between California's Central Valley and the Pacific Northwest. The Siskiyou Trail followed indigenous footpaths, and was extended by Hudson's Bay Company trappers in the 1830s. Its length was increased by "Forty-Niners" during the California Gold Rush.
After the discovery of an important gold strike near today's Yreka, California, in 1851, prospectors flooded the area. This was described in detail by Joaquin Miller in his semi-autobiographical novel Life Amongst the Modocs.
In the mid-1880s, the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad along the Siskiyou Trail brought the first wave of tourism. Visitors were drawn by the county's many summer resorts, and to hunt or fish in the largely untouched region. The Southern Pacific railroad, the successor to the Central Pacific, called its rail line “The Road of A Thousand Wonders.”
In the early 1940s, Siskiyou County was home to the semi-serious State of Jefferson movement, which sought to create a new state from several counties of northern California and the adjoining counties of southern Oregon. The movement has seen a revival in recent years.
The origin of the word Siskiyou is not known. It may be a Chinook Jargon word for a "bob-tailed horse" (ultimately originating in Cree), [6] or as was argued before the State Senate in 1852, from the French Six Cailloux (six stones), a name given to a ford on the Umpqua River by Michel Laframboise and his Hudson's Bay Company trappers in 1832. Others claim the Six Cailloux name was appropriated by Stephen Meek, another Hudson's Bay Company trapper who discovered Scott Valley, for a crossing on the Klamath River near Hornbrook.
The county is home to the Black Bear Ranch, a commune started in 1968 with the slogan "Free Land for free people."
On September 4, 2013, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4 to 1 to secede from the State of California. [7]
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 6,347 square miles (16,440 km2), of which 6,278 square miles (16,260 km2) is land and 69 square miles (180 km2) (1.1%) is water. [8] It is the fifth-largest county by area in California.[ citation needed ]
Siskiyou County is geographically diverse. From towering Mount Shasta (elev. 14,179 ft/(4,322 m)) near the center of the county, to lakes and dense forests, as well as desert, chaparral, and memorable waterfalls, the county is home to world-famous trout-fishing rivers and streams, such as the Sacramento and McCloud rivers. The county is dotted as well with lakes and reservoirs, [9] such as Castle Lake and Lake Siskiyou. Mount Shasta itself has a winter sports center. Pastoral Scott Valley in the western part of the county has many wide, tree-lined meadows, supporting large cattle ranches. The basins of northeastern Siskiyou County, including Butte Valley, Lower Klamath and Tule Lake basins, have some of the deepest and richest soils in the state, producing alfalfa, potatoes, horseradish, and brewing barley. Butte Valley nurseries are the leading source of premium strawberry plants in North America. Much of the county is densely forested with pine, fir, incense-cedar, oak, and madrone; Siskiyou County is also home to the rare Baker's Cypress Tree, Cupressus bakeri, which grows in only eleven scattered locations in the world, five of which are in Siskiyou County. The county's natural resources are most often used these days for skiing, snowboarding, hiking, mountain biking, camping, and wilderness recreation, as historic logging practices have been largely discontinued due to Federal and State environmental regulations. The county's water is viewed as sufficiently pure and abundant that the county is a source of significant amounts of bottled water, distributed throughout the country. A large Crystal Geyser plant is at the base of Mt. Shasta, near Weed.
Substantial amounts of the county are forested within the Siskiyou and Cascade Ranges, including significant oak woodland and mixed conifer forests. Siskiyou County is the northern extent of the range for California Buckeye, [10] a widespread California endemic. The Klamath National Forest occupies 1,700,000 acres (6,900 km2) of land which includes elements in Siskiyou County as well as Jackson County, Oregon. [11]
Siskiyou Transit And General Express (STAGE) [12] operates buses connecting the more populated areas of the county. Amtrak trains stop in Dunsmuir. Amtrak California motorcoaches operate from Sacramento and Medford, OR, with stops in Yreka, Weed, Mount Shasta, and Dunsmuir, for passengers connecting to and from Amtrak trains in Sacramento or Stockton.
Siskiyou County owns and operates Butte Valley Airport, Happy Camp Airport, Scott Valley Airport, Siskiyou County Airport and Weed Airport (all general aviation). Dunsmuir Municipal-Mott Airport and Montague-Yreka Rohrer Field are also within the county.
The closest airports for commercial domestic plane departures are Rogue Valley International-Medford Airport north of the county in Medford, Oregon, Crater Lake–Klamath Regional Airport, northeast of the county in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and Redding Municipal Airport south of the county in Redding, California.
Population and registered voters | ||
---|---|---|
Total population [13] | 44,687 | |
Registered voters [14] [note 1] | 25,582 | 57.2% |
Democratic [14] | 8,253 | 32.3% |
Republican [14] | 10,458 | 40.9% |
Democratic–Republican spread [14] | -2,205 | -8.6% |
Independent [14] | 1,126 | 4.4% |
Green [14] | 196 | 0.8% |
Libertarian [14] | 264 | 1.0% |
Peace and Freedom [14] | 89 | 0.3% |
Americans Elect [14] | 1 | 0.0% |
Other [14] | 57 | 0.2% |
No party preference [14] | 5,138 | 20.1% |
Cities by population and voter registration | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
City | Population [13] | Registered voters [14] [note 1] | Democratic [14] | Republican [14] | D–R spread [14] | Other [14] | No party preference [14] |
Dorris | 872 | 42.5% | 30.5% | 42.3% | -11.8% | 8.4% | 22.4% |
Dunsmuir | 1,663 | 56.2% | 41.5% | 24.5% | +17.0% | 13.7% | 24.6% |
Etna | 721 | 58.5% | 29.1% | 46.0% | -16.9% | 9.7% | 18.7% |
Fort Jones | 595 | 63.5% | 30.4% | 44.4% | -14.0% | 10.1% | 18.8% |
Montague | 1,510 | 47.8% | 24.8% | 44.6% | -19.8% | 12.3% | 23.8% |
Mount Shasta | 3,411 | 59.8% | 42.6% | 25.3% | +17.3% | 10.4% | 25.3% |
Tulelake | 981 | 24.9% | 22.5% | 54.5% | -32.0% | 8.6% | 18.4% |
Weed | 2,947 | 44.8% | 45.6% | 24.0% | +21.6% | 14.5% | 21.7% |
Yreka | 7,696 | 52.3% | 30.8% | 42.5% | -11.7% | 11.0% | 20.3% |
Siskiyou is a strongly Republican county in Presidential and congressional elections. The last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Lyndon Johnson in 1964; however, Bill Clinton won a plurality of votes in 1992.
Year | Republican | Democratic | Third party | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2020 | 13,290 | 56.62% | 9,593 | 40.87% | 589 | 2.51% |
2016 | 11,341 | 55.34% | 7,234 | 35.30% | 1,918 | 9.36% |
2012 | 11,077 | 55.40% | 8,046 | 40.24% | 870 | 4.35% |
2008 | 11,520 | 53.42% | 9,292 | 43.09% | 752 | 3.49% |
2004 | 12,673 | 60.64% | 7,880 | 37.71% | 346 | 1.66% |
2000 | 12,198 | 61.55% | 6,323 | 31.90% | 1,298 | 6.55% |
1996 | 8,653 | 47.30% | 7,022 | 38.39% | 2,618 | 14.31% |
1992 | 6,660 | 32.21% | 8,254 | 39.91% | 5,765 | 27.88% |
1988 | 9,056 | 50.88% | 8,365 | 47.00% | 376 | 2.11% |
1984 | 10,544 | 58.25% | 7,130 | 39.39% | 427 | 2.36% |
1980 | 9,331 | 55.75% | 5,664 | 33.84% | 1,743 | 10.41% |
1976 | 7,070 | 48.37% | 7,060 | 48.31% | 485 | 3.32% |
1972 | 7,563 | 51.46% | 6,434 | 43.78% | 699 | 4.76% |
1968 | 6,334 | 46.13% | 6,260 | 45.59% | 1,138 | 8.29% |
1964 | 5,186 | 36.18% | 9,126 | 63.66% | 23 | 0.16% |
1960 | 6,279 | 42.95% | 8,245 | 56.40% | 96 | 0.66% |
1956 | 6,841 | 49.79% | 6,837 | 49.76% | 63 | 0.46% |
1952 | 8,735 | 55.69% | 6,800 | 43.35% | 151 | 0.96% |
1948 | 5,315 | 42.53% | 6,749 | 54.00% | 434 | 3.47% |
1944 | 4,351 | 42.15% | 5,914 | 57.29% | 58 | 0.56% |
1940 | 4,387 | 35.92% | 7,714 | 63.17% | 111 | 0.91% |
1936 | 2,919 | 29.46% | 6,865 | 69.28% | 125 | 1.26% |
1932 | 2,458 | 26.76% | 6,367 | 69.33% | 359 | 3.91% |
1928 | 3,758 | 55.49% | 2,916 | 43.06% | 98 | 1.45% |
1924 | 2,437 | 40.58% | 584 | 9.73% | 2,984 | 49.69% |
1920 | 2,909 | 60.05% | 1,502 | 31.01% | 433 | 8.94% |
1916 | 2,059 | 34.13% | 3,447 | 57.15% | 526 | 8.72% |
1912 | 29 | 0.58% | 2,465 | 49.57% | 2,479 | 49.85% |
1908 | 1,813 | 47.40% | 1,657 | 43.32% | 355 | 9.28% |
1904 | 2,104 | 59.67% | 1,219 | 34.57% | 203 | 5.76% |
1900 | 1,898 | 52.36% | 1,668 | 46.01% | 59 | 1.63% |
1896 | 1,473 | 44.98% | 1,724 | 52.64% | 78 | 2.38% |
1892 | 1,493 | 46.27% | 1,605 | 49.74% | 129 | 4.00% |
Siskiyou County is in California's 1st congressional district , represented by Republican Doug LaMalfa. [16]
In the state legislature Siskiyou is in the 1st Senate District , represented by Republican Brian Dahle, [17] and the 1st Assembly District , represented by Republican Megan Dahle. [18]
On November 4, 2008, Siskiyou County voted 60.1% for Proposition 8 which amended the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages. Dunsmuir and Mount Shasta voted against Prop 8. [ citation needed ]
On September 3, 2013, the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted 4–1 in favor of secession from California to form a proposed state named Jefferson. [19] [20] A similar move was made in 1941, but was shelved due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. [21]
The following table includes the number of incidents reported and the rate per 1,000 persons for each type of offense.
Population and crime rates | ||
---|---|---|
Population [13] | 44,687 | |
Violent crime [22] | 183 | 4.10 |
Homicide [22] | 1 | 0.02 |
Forcible rape [22] | 18 | 0.40 |
Robbery [22] | 16 | 0.36 |
Aggravated assault [22] | 148 | 3.31 |
Property crime [22] | 447 | 10.00 |
Burglary [22] | 257 | 5.75 |
Larceny-theft [22] [note 2] | 467 | 10.45 |
Motor vehicle theft [22] | 82 | 1.83 |
Arson [22] | 3 | 0.07 |
Cities by population and crime rates | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
City | Population [23] | Violent crimes [23] | Violent crime rate per 1,000 persons | Property crimes [23] | Property crime rate per 1,000 persons | |||
Dorris | 939 | 1 | 1.06 | 23 | 24.49 | |||
Dunsmuir | 1,650 | 5 | 3.03 | 41 | 24.85 | |||
Etna | 737 | 1 | 1.36 | 2 | 2.71 | |||
Fort Jones | 841 | 0 | 0.00 | 14 | 16.65 | |||
Lake Shastina | 2,460 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | |||
Montague | 1,443 | 2 | 1.39 | 6 | 4.16 | |||
Mount Shasta | 3,396 | 5 | 1.47 | 79 | 23.26 | |||
Tulelake | 1,010 | 1 | 0.99 | 5 | 4.95 | |||
Weed | 2,970 | 18 | 6.06 | 125 | 42.09 | |||
Yreka | 7,768 | 42 | 5.41 | 293 | 37.72 |
Population, race, and income | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total population [13] | 44,687 | ||||
White [13] | 38,919 | 87.1% | |||
Black or African American [13] | 519 | 1.2% | |||
American Indian or Alaska Native [13] | 1,287 | 2.9% | |||
Asian [13] | 588 | 1.3% | |||
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander [13] | 142 | 0.3% | |||
Some other race [13] | 516 | 1.2% | |||
Two or more races [13] | 2,716 | 6.1% | |||
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) [24] | 4,544 | 10.2% | |||
Per capita income [25] | $22,335 | ||||
Median household income [26] | $37,865 | ||||
Median family income [27] | $47,632 |
Places by population and race | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Type [28] | Population [13] | White [13] | Other [13] [note 3] | Asian [13] | Black or African American [13] | Native American [13] [note 4] | Hispanic or Latino (of any race) [24] |
Carrick | CDP | 123 | 100.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Dorris | City | 872 | 83.9% | 11.6% | 1.0% | 0.0% | 3.4% | 25.1% |
Dunsmuir | City | 1,663 | 85.9% | 8.5% | 1.5% | 1.6% | 2.4% | 7.5% |
Edgewood | CDP | 49 | 85.7% | 14.3% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 14.3% |
Etna | City | 721 | 86.8% | 10.1% | 0.6% | 0.0% | 2.5% | 9.3% |
Fort Jones | City | 595 | 91.8% | 3.2% | 0.2% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 6.6% |
Gazelle | CDP | 153 | 71.2% | 24.8% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3.9% | 22.2% |
Greenview | CDP | 376 | 89.4% | 10.6% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Grenada | CDP | 322 | 81.4% | 8.7% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 9.9% | 2.8% |
Happy Camp | CDP | 1,170 | 61.3% | 12.2% | 6.9% | 0.8% | 18.8% | 4.6% |
Hornbrook | CDP | 334 | 89.8% | 1.5% | 2.4% | 0.0% | 6.3% | 5.7% |
McCloud | CDP | 1,288 | 94.5% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 5.1% |
Macdoel | CDP | 108 | 38.0% | 62.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 72.2% |
Montague | City | 1,510 | 80.7% | 12.5% | 0.6% | 0.2% | 6.0% | 16.9% |
Mount Hebron | CDP | 72 | 94.4% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5.6% | 31.9% |
Mount Shasta | City | 3,411 | 93.3% | 6.5% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.0% | 8.6% |
Tennant | CDP | 55 | 65.5% | 5.5% | 29.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Tulelake | City | 981 | 83.1% | 8.1% | 1.0% | 5.2% | 2.7% | 55.2% |
Weed | City | 2,947 | 87.8% | 5.0% | 1.1% | 3.7% | 2.5% | 15.8% |
Yreka | City | 7,696 | 84.6% | 8.9% | 1.9% | 1.3% | 3.4% | 10.3% |
Places by population and income | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Place | Type [28] | Population [29] | Per capita income [25] | Median household income [26] | Median family income [27] |
Carrick | CDP | 123 | $13,418 | $12,269 | $37,386 |
Dorris | City | 872 | $15,058 | $32,500 | $37,880 |
Dunsmuir | City | 1,663 | $21,465 | $36,813 | $47,958 |
Edgewood | CDP | 49 | $26,247 | $44,063 | $43,438 |
Etna | City | 721 | $16,854 | $30,455 | $31,875 |
Fort Jones | City | 595 | $15,363 | $26,875 | $38,947 |
Gazelle | CDP | 153 | $13,808 | $19,333 | $27,344 |
Greenview | CDP | 376 | $19,574 | $45,640 | $45,640 |
Grenada | CDP | 322 | $21,354 | $27,955 | $40,417 |
Happy Camp | CDP | 1,170 | $13,909 | $23,438 | $30,500 |
Hornbrook | CDP | 334 | $13,494 | $27,143 | $36,528 |
McCloud | CDP | 1,288 | $19,543 | $31,630 | $49,922 |
Macdoel | CDP | 108 | $17,961 | $51,534 | $53,750 |
Montague | City | 1,510 | $15,971 | $33,438 | $44,875 |
Mount Hebron | CDP | 72 | $18,090 | $25,875 | $24,464 |
Mount Shasta | City | 3,411 | $24,705 | $39,575 | $62,500 |
Tennant | CDP | 55 | $13,035 | $18,365 | $18,250 |
Tulelake | City | 981 | $13,174 | $26,389 | $36,500 |
Weed | City | 2,947 | $15,124 | $25,659 | $37,917 |
Yreka | City | 7,696 | $21,169 | $31,151 | $41,750 |
Historical population | |||
---|---|---|---|
Census | Pop. | %± | |
1860 | 7,629 | — | |
1870 | 6,848 | −10.2% | |
1880 | 8,610 | 25.7% | |
1890 | 12,163 | 41.3% | |
1900 | 16,962 | 39.5% | |
1910 | 18,801 | 10.8% | |
1920 | 18,545 | −1.4% | |
1930 | 25,480 | 37.4% | |
1940 | 28,598 | 12.2% | |
1950 | 30,733 | 7.5% | |
1960 | 32,885 | 7.0% | |
1970 | 33,225 | 1.0% | |
1980 | 39,732 | 19.6% | |
1990 | 43,531 | 9.6% | |
2000 | 44,301 | 1.8% | |
2010 | 44,900 | 1.4% | |
2020 | 44,076 | −1.8% | |
U.S. Decennial Census [30] 1790-1960 [31] 1900-1990 [32] 1990-2000 [33] 2010-2015 [3] |
The 2010 United States Census reported Siskiyou County had a population of 44,900. The racial makeup of Siskiyou County was 38,030 (84.7%) White, 571 (1.3%) African American, 1,814 (4.0%) Native American, 540 (1.2%) Asian, 80 (0.2%) Pacific Islander, 1,491 (3.3%) from other races, and 2,374 (5.3%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4,615 persons (10.3%). [34]
Population reported at 2010 United States Census | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The County | Total Population | two or more races | |||||||
Siskiyou County | 44,900 | 38,030 | 571 | 1,814 | 540 | 80 | 1,491 | 2,374 | 4,615 |
Total Population | two or more races | ||||||||
Dorris | 939 | 764 | 19 | 18 | 5 | 8 | 77 | 48 | 197 |
Dunsmuir | 1,650 | 1,443 | 32 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 30 | 109 | 167 |
Etna | 737 | 627 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 74 | 26 |
Fort Jones | 839 | 650 | 33 | 61 | 8 | 0 | 23 | 64 | 103 |
Montague | 1,443 | 1,251 | 4 | 67 | 8 | 1 | 17 | 95 | 107 |
Mount Shasta | 3,394 | 3,041 | 61 | 19 | 56 | 2 | 51 | 164 | 277 |
Tulelake | 1,010 | 563 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 365 | 65 | 601 |
Weed | 2,967 | 2,221 | 206 | 70 | 121 | 27 | 132 | 190 | 475 |
Yreka | 7,765 | 6,495 | 57 | 491 | 94 | 9 | 168 | 451 | 753 |
Total Population | two or more races | ||||||||
Carrick | 131 | 110 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 8 |
Edgewood | 43 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Gazelle | 70 | 65 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Greenview | 201 | 161 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 21 | 19 |
Grenada | 367 | 307 | 2 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 12 |
Happy Camp | 1,190 | 814 | 2 | 277 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 71 | 95 |
Hornbrook | 248 | 195 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 28 | 19 |
Macdoel | 133 | 57 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 1 | 78 |
McCloud | 1,101 | 1,039 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 33 | 65 |
Mount Hebron | 95 | 73 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 41 |
Tennant | 41 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Other unincorporated areas | Total Population | two or more races | |||||||
All others not CDPs (combined) | 20,536 | 18,077 | 139 | 666 | 214 | 27 | 487 | 926 | 1,561 |
As of the census [35] of 2000, there were 44,301 people, 18,556 households, and 12,228 families residing in the county. The population density was 7/sq mi (3/km2). There were 21,947 housing units at an average density of 4/sq mi (1/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 87.1% White, 1.3% Black or African American, 3.9% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.8% from other races, and 3.7% from two or more races. 7.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 13.5% were of German, 12.0% English, 9.8% Irish, 9.5% American and 7.1% Italian ancestry according to Census 2000. 91.7% spoke English and 5.7% Spanish as their first language. As of March 2012, the largest self-reported ancestry groups in Siskiyou County are 15% German, 13% English, 12% Irish and 6% Italian. [36]
There were 18,556 households, out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.7% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.1% were non-families. 28.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.87.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 28.4% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 96.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.1 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,530, and the median income for a family was $36,890. Males had a median income of $31,936 versus $22,650 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,570. About 14.0% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.6% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2020 census of Siskiyou County.
†county seat
Rank | City/Town/etc. | Municipal type | Population (2020 Census) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | † Yreka | City | 7,807 |
2 | Mount Shasta | City | 3,223 |
3 | Weed | City | 2,862 |
4 | Lake Shastina | CDP | 2,401 |
5 | Dunsmuir | City | 1,707 |
6 | Montague | City | 1,226 |
7 | McCloud | CDP | 945 |
8 | Happy Camp | CDP | 905 |
9 | Tulelake | City | 902 |
10 | Dorris | City | 860 |
11 | Fort Jones | City | 695 |
12 | Etna | City | 678 |
13 | Karuk Reservation [38] | AIAN | 578 |
14 | Grenada | CDP | 314 |
15 | Hornbrook | CDP | 266 |
16 | Greenview | CDP | 208 |
17 | Quartz Valley Reservation [39] | AIAN | 202 |
18 | Carrick | CDP | 143 |
19 | Mount Hebron | CDP | 103 |
20 | Gazelle | CDP | 95 |
21 | Macdoel | CDP | 86 |
22 | Edgewood | CDP | 72 |
23 | Tennant | CDP | 63 |
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 400 miles (640 km) before reaching the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay. The river drains about 26,500 square miles (69,000 km2) in 19 California counties, mostly within the fertile agricultural region bounded by the Coast Ranges and Sierra Nevada known as the Sacramento Valley, but also extending as far as the volcanic plateaus of Northeastern California. Historically, its watershed has reached as far north as south-central Oregon where the now, primarily, endorheic (closed) Goose Lake rarely experiences southerly outflow into the Pit River, the most northerly tributary of the Sacramento.
Modoc County is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county seat and only incorporated city is Alturas. Previous county seats include Lake City and Centerville. The county borders Nevada and Oregon.
Shasta County, officially the County of Shasta, is a county in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 182,155 as of the 2020 census, up from 177,223 from the 2010 census. The county seat is Redding.
Trinity County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California. Trinity County is rugged, mountainous, heavily forested, and lies along the Trinity River within the Salmon and Klamath Mountains. It is also one of three counties in California with no incorporated cities.
Klamath County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,413. The county seat is Klamath Falls. The county was named for the Klamath, the tribe of Native Americans living in the area at the time the first European explorers entered the region. Klamath County comprises the Klamath Falls, OR Micropolitan Statistical Area.
Jackson County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 223,259. The county seat is Medford. The county is named for Andrew Jackson, the seventh president of the United States.
Dunsmuir is a city in Siskiyou County, northern California. It is on the upper Sacramento River in the Trinity Mountains. Its population is 1,707 as of the 2020 census, up from 1,650 from the 2010 census.
Weed is a city in Siskiyou County, California, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a total population of 2,862, down from 2,967 in 2010. There are several unincorporated communities adjacent to, or just outside, Weed proper, including Edgewood, Carrick, and Lake Shastina. These communities generally have mailing addresses that use Weed or its ZIP code. Weed is about 10 miles (16 km) west-northwest of Mount Shasta, a prominent northern California landmark, and the second-tallest volcano in the Cascade Range.
Yreka is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about 10 square miles (26 km2), most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase from 7,765 counted in the 2010 Census. Yreka is home to the College of the Siskiyous, Klamath National Forest Interpretive Museum and the Siskiyou County Museum.
The State of Jefferson is a proposed U.S. state that would span the contiguous, mostly rural area of southern Oregon and Northern California, where several attempts to separate from Oregon and California, respectively, have taken place. The region encompasses most of Northern California's land but does not include San Francisco or other Bay Area counties that account for the majority of Northern California's population.
The Modoc are an Indigenous American people who historically lived in the area which is now northeastern California and central Southern Oregon. Currently, they include two federally recognized tribes, the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, now known as the Modoc Nation.
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 and the Sierra Nevada mountain range.
The Shasta River is a tributary of the Klamath River, approximately 58 miles (93 km) long, in northern California in the United States. It drains the Shasta Valley on the west and north sides of Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range.
Butte Valley National Grassland is a 18,425-acre (7,456 ha) United States National Grassland located in northern California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Klamath National Forest, it is located in northern Siskiyou County, near the Oregon border, between the communities of Dorris and Macdoel along U.S. Highway 97. It was dedicated in July 1991 as the nation's 20th National Grassland. It is administered as part of the Klamath National Forest, and is the sole National Grassland in California and in Region 5 of the Forest Service. Administrative offices are located in Macdoel, California.
The Siskiyou Trail stretched from California's Central Valley to Oregon's Willamette Valley; modern-day Interstate 5 follows this pioneer path. Originally based on existing Native American foot trails winding their way through river valleys, the Siskiyou Trail provided the shortest practical travel path between early settlements in California and Oregon.
Klamath National Forest is a 1,737,774-acre national forest, in the Klamath Mountains and Cascade Range, located in Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension into southern Jackson County in Oregon. The forest contains continuous stands of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Douglas fir, red fir, white fir, lodgepole pine, Baker Cypress, and incense cedar. Old growth forest is estimated to cover some 168,000 acres (680 km2) of the forest land. Forest headquarters are located in Yreka, California. There are local ranger district offices located in Fort Jones, Happy Camp, and Macdoel, all in California. The Klamath was established on May 6, 1905. This forest includes the Kangaroo Lake and the Sawyers Bar Catholic Church is located within the boundaries of the Forest. The Forest is managed jointly with the Butte Valley National Grassland.
Area code 530 is a California telephone area code in northeastern and Northern California.
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.
The Red Buttes Wilderness is a wilderness area in the Klamath and Rogue River national forests in the U.S. states of Oregon and California. It comprises 19,940 acres (8,070 ha), approximately 16,190 acres (6,550 ha) of which is located in California, and 3,750 acres (1,520 ha) in Oregon. It was established by the California Wilderness Act of 1984 and the Oregon Wilderness Act of 1984.