The Trinity Mountains are a subrange of the
Klamath Mountains
The Klamath Mountains are a rugged and lightly populated mountain range in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the western United States. As a mountain system within both the greater Pacific Coast Ranges and the California Coast ...
, one of the ranges within the California Coast Ranges and part the greater Pacific Coast Ranges, the coastal mountain system extending from Mexico to Alaska. The Trinity Mountains subrange rises in
Siskiyou County
Siskiyou County (, ) is a county in the northernmost part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,076. Its county seat is Yreka and its highest point is Mount Shasta. It falls within the Cascadia bioregion ...
and eastern
Trinity County, Northern
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
They are protected within the
Shasta-Trinity National Forest.
Geography
The Trinity Mountains run in a southwest-northeasterly direction for . The subrange runs between
Trinity Lake
Trinity Lake, previously called Clair Engle Lake, is an artificial lake on the Trinity River formed by the Trinity Dam and located in Trinity County, California, United States. The dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The lake's cap ...
and
Lake Shasta
Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United State ...
, around northwest of
Redding.
Peaks of the Trinity Mountains rise to elevations of in the southwest, and to more than in the northeast.
Mount Eddy
Mount Eddy is the highest peak of the Trinity Mountains, a mountain range of the Klamath Mountains System, located in Siskiyou County, and Trinity County in northern California.
The mountain is in the Mount Eddy RNA, a Research Natural Area ...
is the highest peak, at 9,037 ft (2,754 m), which is highest point of the northern segment of Pacific Coast Ranges within the lower forty-eight states.
Recreation
Places for outdoor recreation in the Trinity Mountains and their foothills include:
*
Box Canyon Dam and Reservoir — trails + camping.
*
Castle Crags State Park
Castle Crags is a dramatic and well-known rock formation in Northern California. Elevations range from along the Sacramento River near the base of the crags, to over at the summit of the tallest crag.
Located just west of Interstate 5, betwe ...
*
Castle Crags Wilderness Area
*
Castle Lake
* Chapple-Shasta Off-Highway Vehicle Area.
*
Clear Creek
*
Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area
**
Lewiston Lake reservoir area, in the Trinity Unit.
**
Shasta Lake
Shasta Lake, also popularly known as Lake Shasta, is a reservoir in Shasta County, California, United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United State ...
reservoir area, in the Shasta Unit.
**
Trinity Lake
Trinity Lake, previously called Clair Engle Lake, is an artificial lake on the Trinity River formed by the Trinity Dam and located in Trinity County, California, United States. The dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The lake's cap ...
reservoir area, in the Trinity Unit.
**
Whiskeytown Lake reservoir area, in the Whiskeytown Unit.
Natural history
The Trinity Mountains contain significant forested areas, including stands of
Black Oak (''Quercus kelloggii''),
Blue Oak (''Quercus douglasii'') and
Douglas-fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii''). The ''Quercus douglasii'' occurrences are a disjunctive population of this California
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
tree species.
[C. Michael Hogan. 2008]
''Blue Oak: Quercus douglasii'', GlobalTwitcher.com, ed. N. Stromberg
See also
*
*
References
*
External links
*
Mountain ranges of Siskiyou County, California
Mountain ranges of Trinity County, California
Klamath Mountains
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
California Coast Ranges
Mountain ranges of Northern California
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