Klamath River

The Klamath River (Karuk: Ishkêesh, Klamath: Koke, Yurok: Hehlkeek ʼWe-Roy) is a 257-mile (414 km) long river in southern Oregon and northern California. Beginning near Klamath Falls in the Oregon high desert, it flows west through the Cascade Range and Klamath Mountains before reaching the temperate rainforest of California's North Coast, where it empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Klamath River is the third-largest salmon and steelhead producing river on the west coast of the contiguous United States. The river's watershed – the Klamath Basin – encompasses more than 15,000 square miles (39,000 km), and is known for its biodiverse forests, large areas of designated wilderness, and freshwater marshes that provide key migratory bird habitat.

Native Americans have used the river as a source of food and trade for thousands of years, and it continues to hold great cultural significance for tribes. Most lands along the upper Klamath were settled by Euro-Americans following exploration by fur trappers in the early to mid-19th century. Violent conflict and displacement of tribes occurred during the California Gold Rush as prospectors pushed into the lower Klamath basin, leading to a bitter fight over establishing reservation lands. In the early 20th century, the federal government drained the upper basin's once extensive lakes and wetlands for agriculture, while private utilities constructed hydroelectric dams along the river. As salmon runs declined in the mid-20th century, tribes pushed for legal recognition of their senior water rights to support Klamath River fisheries, which have led to controversial reductions in irrigation water supply.