Early inhabitants and settlers Klamath River

semi-nomadic tribes inhabited upper basin, portion of seen here, mount shasta viewed shasta tribal lands.

human habitation on klamath dates @ least 7,000 years ago. many of native american groups along river depended on huge runs of pacific salmon, third largest on pacific coast of united states. these groups included shasta along middle , upper parts of river, yurok, hupa, , karuk along canyons of lower river, , modoc, klamath , yahooskin in desert valleys of upper basin. 129 miles (208 km) of klamath river, or half river s length, on shasta territory. yurok second prominent group on river, controlling 30 miles (48 km) of lower klamath river , large section of northern california coast. along hupa , karuk, lower mid-upper tribes caught salmon river weirs, basket traps , harpoons. ishi pishi falls, set of rapids on klamath river near confluence salmon river, has been traditional fishing ground thousands of years. of upstream groups had nomadic hunting-gathering lifestyle , did not depend on salmon as downstream tribes. klamath river s name recorded europeans in 19th century derived word klamet or klamath tribe. prior european contact, river called many different names, including ishkêesh , koke. klamath tribe s name came upper chinookan word /ɬámaɬ/, literally of river .

in late 1820s, fur trappers of hudson s bay company traveling south fort vancouver reached klamath river basin. first party see klamath river led alexander mcleod in winter of 1826–27. in 1828, jedediah smith fur trapping expedition helped across trinity river yurok , camped on east side of trinity river. clerk, harrison g. rogers, wrote, mr. smith purchases beaver furs can them, suggesting beaver plentiful on trinity. joseph grinnell, in fur-bearing mammals of california, noted beaver had been present on other klamath river tributaries such scott river , shasta river, , further cited fish , game report of beaver 1915–1917 on high prairie creek @ mouth of klamath river near requa, california. within matter of years, plentiful beavers in klamath basin had been wiped out. beaver dams had been important factor in stream habitat in klamath river watershed, helping moderate power of floods , creating extensive wetlands. loss of beaver dams resulted in detrimental consequences watercourses in basin, exacerbating power of winter floods, , causing severe erosion. trapping parties moved southwest sacramento valley , blazed extension of siskiyou trail, path between oregon territory , san francisco bay. despite environmental implications, extensive , fertile meadows left behind draining of beaver ponds attracted many settlers region later on.

—r.l. dunn (1889)

the 1850s saw discoveries of rich placer , lode gold deposits along predominantly shasta areas of klamath, trinity, shasta , other rivers in northwestern california. 1850s brought greed-fueled murderous rampage upon indigenous people inhabiting regions. villages full of men, women, children, , infants either hacked or shot potential gold harmfully extracted. gold thought have originated volcanic activity in klamath mountains. miners searching gold in klamath mountains , trinity alps in aftermath of california gold rush first discovered gold along salmon creek in spring of 1850, , additional deposits found on main stem july. gold discovered in great quantities in shasta lands @ french gulch , yreka. several place names in klamath basin originate era, including of scott river, named pioneer john walter scott. gold deposits still present in klamath river watershed though mined far past end of gold rush.

in 1864, native americans of klamath basin , surrounding area signed treaty had them cede 20 million acres (8,100,000 ha) of land united states , forced them move newly created klamath indian reservation. reservation clumped yurok, karuk, , hoopa tribes 1 small area. eventually, tribes began profit sale of timber produced on reservation, although unfairly distributed because of lack of consideration of 3 differing tribes. in 1954, however, congress removed federal recognition , reservation no longer economically successful. tribes won federal recognition in 1970s, poverty widespread among tribal members.