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It wasn’t entirely intentional but our adventures in the Klamath Basin were easily split into two distinct geographic categories, north and south. Last time we discussed our northern travels, so it is now time to talk about the southern end of the Basin. In order to do so we have to leave the state of Oregon and head back down to California. And here we thought we’d already said goodbye to the Golden State!

Straddling or abutting the California-Oregon border are three of the Klamath Basin’s six National Wildlife Refuges: Clear Lake, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake. Squished in between the last two is Lava Beds National Monument. To say that the area called to us would be an understatement; it screamed, “Come and explore.” So we obliged.

Our first stop was the Monument. Established in 1925 to preserve natural, geologic, and historic sites the Monument stretches over 46,000 acres. As the name implies it is a landscape sculpted by volcanism. The oldest eruptive evidence extends back almost a million years while the most recent action is a mere thousand years old. Our day was spent hiking across chunky, black blocks of lava flows, gazing up the flanks of cinder cones and exploring the depths of lava tubes. We did not come prepared for any strenuous caving activities, but there were several lava tubes beginners like us could tackle. Near the Visitor Center we explored Indian Well and Mushpot caves. They were both relatively short, but had neat features like lavacicles.

At the foot of nearby Schonchin Butte was a cluster of three easy access lava tubes: Skull Cave, Big Painted Cave, and Symbol Bridge. All three of them had been used by the early native people so we had to go explore them. Skull Cave no longer has its namesake bighorn sheep skulls, pronghorn, mountain goat bones, or human skeletons that were discovered in the cave. I couldn’t find out what was done with the artifacts, perhaps they were taken as souvenirs before the Monument was created. Regardless, it was still an interesting jaunt that ended–after several flights of stairs—at an ice-covered floor. It felt so good down there since it was over 90 degrees outside. Other than passing one small group, we had the lava tubes to ourselves that afternoon.

All of the Monument’s volcanic features owe their existence to the Medicine Lake Volcano. Though dwarfed by nearby Mount Shasta (the second highest peak in the Cascade Range), Medicine Lake Volcano is the largest in the Cascades by volume. As a shield volcano, Medicine Lake’s eruptions were typified by “gentle” flows of two thousand degree lava rather than explosive events. Think of the fluid lava flows like the ones you’ve probably seen in footage from Hawaiian eruptions, and you’ll get the idea. The Monument’s biggest draw is access to many of the park’s so-far-discovered 450 lava tube “caves”. The tubes were created by the rapid cooling and hardening of lava on the top, bottom, and sides. The lava remained hot on the inside and continued to rush along, eventually leaving behind long, hollow tubes. Over the years parts of the tubes collapsed, providing access for all manner of curious creatures, like animals and humans.

We were by no means the first people to enjoy wandering their depths. Archaeological evidence shows that native peoples lived in the area, along the shores of historic Tule Lake, almost 12,000 years ago. To date, that is the oldest habitation site in the entire state of California. Undoubtedly these early inhabitants were aware of the tubes and possibly even explored them, though the oldest evidence of native use of the caves is only about 4,500 years ago.

Located in the high desert, the land looks inhospitable at first glance, but upon closer inspection various resources appear. Black rocks peek out from under the sparse green-brown growth of sagebrush and grass, while deep green junipers dot the land sporadically. To the south, higher up on the flanks of the volcano, are pine trees and a lake where larger animals shelter during the heat of summer. To the north, the verdant shores of historic Tule Lake are within easy walking distance. Tule Lake still exists today though it was reduced to one sixth of its former size in the early 1900s by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The lake which now covers 13,000 acres teems with waterfowl in the spring and fall since the Basin is a major stopover on the Pacific Flyway.

The area around Tule Lake has been important to native peoples for thousands of years, and for hundreds of years it provided the Modoc tribe all they needed to survive. The Modoc lived in small family bands, moving across the land as they followed the bounty of the seasons. Much of the year was spent along the shores of Tule Lake. The lake was named for the tule reeds that grow abundantly along the shore. The reeds were a great resource for the Modoc who used them for clothing, housing, and household items—even their boats were made of the light reeds. With their boats they explored the lake: fishing, hunting waterfowl, collecting wocus seeds, carving symbols into the soft rock of a nearby island, and defending their territory from neighboring tribes.

During our stop at the Visitor Center we were introduced to wocus, the Modoc word for Rocky Mountain pond-lily (Nelumbo lutea). Wocus seeds were collected by boat, dried and ground into a flour which was an important part of the Modoc diet. We were amazed by this information for two reasons: one I had grown up with pond-lilies and never noticed their seeds or knew they were edible, and second, the term bears a striking similarity to the word “lotus” which is the word for water lily used in Asia and other parts of the world. We are not linguists, and it could just be a coincidence, but we wonder if it isn’t a relic leftover from a once-shared language. Stranger things have happened!

Back to the Modoc. They were not alone in the Klamath Basin; to the north lived their distantly related neighbors, the Klamaths, to the east were the fierce Paiutes, and to the west were the Shastas. The groups mostly ignored each other but trespassing was not tolerated and battles over territory and resources were not uncommon. In such a way the cultures survived and even thrived, up until the early 1840s. Almost 100 years before the Monument was created, the Modoc had their first encounter with Europeans. Hudson’s Bay Company trappers first arrived in 1826, and by the early 1840s some of the trappers and mountain men had settled there. In 1843 Kit Carson led one of Fremont’s expeditions through the area for the first time. Though they encountered many native people their experience was peaceful.

By the time of Fremont’s second trip to the area in 1846 the Modoc had experienced difficulties with foreigners and their interactions were decidedly unfriendly. 1846 was the year that the Applegate brothers opened the Applegate Cutoff, an easier route to Oregon from California. The route took the traveling settlers right by the southern end of Tule Lake through Modoc homelands. The Modoc quickly became angered by the actions of the travelers as they disturbed wildlife and trampled their land. By the end of the year blood had been spilled. In efforts to drive the travelers away, the Modoc resorted to their traditional tactics of attacking. The raids, murders, and fighting increased over the next 20 years as the region gradually became more populated.

Settlers who had been promised free land soon demanded the removal of the Modoc and other tribes, claiming that the native people were dangerous and violent. In 1864 the U.S. government established a reservation north of present day Fort Klamath in the heart of the Klamath tribe’s territory and convinced the Modoc to move there. Living far from their homelands was hard enough, but to have to share land with their long-standing enemies was too much for the Modoc. In 1869 and again in 1870 the Modoc left the reservation and returned to their home near the Lost River.

Throughout the years the Modoc people had appealed to the government for the creation of their own reservation in their historic homeland but the request was consistently denied. Finally, the government swung into action, in November 1872 the Modoc were again ordered back to the reservation and the troops at Fort Klamath were authorized to use force if necessary. As you can imagine, the drama unfolded much the same as other “settling of the West” stories: violently.

The troops, expecting a quick and decisive battle, followed the Modoc to the southern edge of Tule Lake. Over 150 Modoc people, under the leadership of Kintpuash (Captain Jack), took refuge in the mangled volcanic landscape. After several battles and near misses the troops named the area Captain Jack’s Stronghold. In the end it took over 500 soldiers and volunteers to capture the 53 Modoc warriors and the women and children they were protecting. When the Modoc War ended in June 1873 with the surrender of Kintpuash, most of the surviving Modoc were shipped to Oklahoma.

Today there are two recognized bands of Modoc, one in Oregon and one in Oklahoma. We were quiet as we drove past the Stronghold on our way out to Petroglyph Point. The aptly named spot is a separate section of Lava Beds National Monument that protects ancient characters that were carved into soft volcanic rock thousands of years ago. Though now surrounded by potato and barley fields, the tall cliff face was once an island near the middle of Tule Lake. Ancestors of the Modoc must have paddled out in their tule reed boats to carve the thousands of symbols. My favorite one looked like a rectangular peace symbol though who knows what it really means. The cliff wall had numerous small ledges and caves which were inhabited by a huge number of birds, mostly swallows. As we stood staring up at the swiftly swerving swallows a larger bird caught our eyes. What we thought was an American Kestrel turned out to be our very first Prairie Falcon. What a good-looking bird!

Since the evening was waning and our thoughts had turned to birds we drove the auto route through nearby Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Zipping elusively across the field and hiding amazingly well for their bright colors were numerous Ring-necked Pheasants. Flying in for the evening were large flocks of White-faced Ibis and disappearing into a furrow was a possible badger. There were numerous other waterfowl but since the light was getting dim we reluctantly headed home.

Pleased with our first visit to the area and hungry for more we devoted another day to wandering through the Lower Klamath Lake National Wildlife Refuge. We finally scored a few good shots of Pheasants, saw several Coyotes, scared a Black-tailed Jackrabbit, found a lone Long-billed Curlew, and were treated to a close-up of a gorgeous adult Bald Eagle. Our total count from our time in the Klamath Basin was just under 100 bird species and we’re certain that more observant birders would have racked up even more. It is now on our list to come back in the fall someday to witness the immense numbers of migrating birds for ourselves. But for now, we’re heading north.

Wildlife sightings:

• Great Basin Rattlesnake
• Mule Deer
• Black-tailed Jackrabbit
• Coyote
• Muskrat
• Badger (?)
• Pied-billed Grebe
• Eared Grebe
• Western Grebe
• Clark’s Grebe
• American White Pelican
• Double-crested Cormorant
• Great Blue Heron
• Great Egret
• Black-crowned Night-Heron
• White-faced Ibis
• Turkey Vulture
• Canada Goose
• Mallard
• Northern Shoveler
• Ring-necked Duck
• Bufflehead
• Redhead
• Osprey
• Bald Eagle
• Golden Eagle
• Northern Harrier
• Red-tailed Hawk
• Prairie Falcon

• Ring-necked Pheasant
• California Quail
• American Coot
• Killdeer
• American Avocet
• Black-necked Stilt
• Greater Yellowlegs
• Willet
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Long-billed Curlew
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Caspian Tern
• Rock Pigeon
• Mourning Dove
• Great Horned Owl
• Black Phoebe
• Western Scrub Jay
• Black-billed Magpie
• Common Raven
• Cliff Swallow
• Rock Wren
• Marsh Wren
• American Robin
• European Starling
• Red-winged Blackbird
• Yellow-headed Blackbird
• Western Meadowlark
• House Finch
• House Sparrow

Photos: View our photographs from Southern Klamath Basin.

Notes: We stayed in Klamath Falls from 05/11/08 to 05/25/08.