Lava Beds National Monument . . . Captain Jack, Schonchin John and their band of Modoc Indians were attacked by the U.S. Army and local civilians at their winter village on the Lost River, just north of Tule Lake, California on November 29, 1872.  Some of the Modocs escaped the attack by crossing the lake [...]

Birding is a great reason to get out and explore our world, but even if you aren’t really into the wide variety of birds to be seen, checking out bald eagles can still be a wonderful adventure for you and your family.  If you want to see lots of bald eagles, the Upper Klamath Basin [...]

The Nation’s First Waterfowl Refuge As the above map shows, there are six National Wildlife Refuges in the Klamath Basin. The Lower Klamath Refuge was the first to be designated, in 1908, and also the first in the United States intended to provide refuge to waterfowl. Physically, the refuge is flat.  Before human modification, this [...]

Lava Beds National Monument . . . The trail to Big Painted Cave and Symbol Bridge was the backbone of my explorations in this area southeast of Schonchin Butte in the Lava Beds National Monument.  The trail heads toward Schonchin Butte from the road to Skull Cave.  The Skull Cave Road is about 1.3 miles [...]

Exploring the Refuge . . . For a short orientation (with a map) to the Tule Lake Refuge and the other refuges in the Klamath Basin system, check out the article entitled “Wildlife Refuges of the Klamath Basin.” The Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge offers explorers six opportunities: a great little visitor center at the [...]

or The Battle of Sand Butte – Lava Beds National Monument . . . History . . . The Park Service labels this site the Thomas-Wright Battlefield.  This, the fourth battle of the Modoc War (after the battle at the Lost River, and two battles at Captain Jack’s Stronghold) was actually fought between a U.S. [...]

Like many places around the world, wetlands in the Upper Klamath Basin were drained to provide croplands for a hungry nation. Here, the United States Bureau of Reclamation began the process in 1905 with an effort called the Klamath Reclamation Project.  The needs of  waterfowl were recognized early on with the establishment of the first [...]

Lava Beds National monument . . . There are literally hundreds of lava tube caves with nearly 28 miles of underground passages that we could explore at the Lava Beds National Monument.  We are NOT going to explore them all – just a few.  We already looked at some easy caves.  Here we will explore [...]

Lava Beds National Monument . . . Lava Beds National Monument is located on the California-Oregon border south of Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA. The Monument offers two, world-class exploration opportunities. The first, that we will address in other articles, is exploration of the history of the Modoc Indian War – the last Indian war fought [...]

The Modoc War . . . Gillem’s Camp is an important site associated with the Modoc War of 1872 and 1873, although it was only in use for about seven weeks.  Very briefly, the war came about after members of the Modoc Tribe decided to leave the Klamath reservation, where they were confined.  They had [...]