Welcome to My Beautiful Siskiyou

Siskiyou is both a county in northern California and a bioregion named for a group of coastal mountains in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon.  The Siskiyou Mountains form the north border of the Klamath River watershed.

The region is blessed with some of the most interesting geology in the country, an artifact of its location at the western edge of the continent, where uplift and plate tectonics meet volcanism and erosion.  Where most mountain ranges in the northern new world run north and south, the Siskiyou ranges trend roughly east-west.

This difference shows up in our serpentine and volcanic soils and in the special plant communities that inhabit them.  The Klamath National Forest boasts almost two dozen "Areas of Botanical Interest," a mere smidgeon of what is out there.

But there's more to Siskiyou.  We're also part of the State of Jefferson, an imaginary political district known for its independent thinking.  We are small, rural towns like Dorris and Weed and Etna and Forks of Salmon, and we are bigger rural hubs like Yreka and Mt. Shasta.

Our natural gifts are many.  We want to share them with the world.  On these pages you will find photos and stories about our beautiful Siskiyou.  Come see.  Come share.  Come visit.