The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History

by Michael Edward Kauffmann (Editor/Author), Justin Garwood (Editor/Author)

This book celebrates the natural history of the Klamath Mountains of northwest California and southwest Oregon through stories of diversity and resilience over deep time.

Shaped by geology, these mountains form an ancient jigsaw puzzle and topographic mosaic dissected by big-shouldered river canyons and sharp ridgelines that create localized climatic gradients. Within the geomorphic province, the rocks are much older than in surrounding regions. This dichotomy has allowed many distinct evolutionary lineages of plants and animals to adapt, survive, and sometimes speciate where elsewhere they became extirpated long ago.

The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History

• Describes and documents one of the most biodiverse temperate mountain ranges on Earth.
• The first comprehensive Natural History written for this region.
• 34 contributing authors–all experts in their fields.
• Chapters including Mammals, Birds, Amphibians, Plant Communities, First Peoples, Geology, Climate, Fire Ecology, and much more.
• Full color, rich illustrations, and well-curated photographs bring 496 pages to life!

496 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2022

About the author

I am a 20 year veteran in the world of public education. Vacation time inspired personal research that resulted in books including Conifer Country, Conifers of the Pacific Slope, Field Guide to Manzanitas, California Desert Plants, and The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History. Those first books secured a MA from Humboldt State University and summer gigs with the Forest Service and the California Native Plant Society mapping rare conifers. I also like to walk long distances and founded the 501c3 Bigfoot Trail Alliance to preserve and protect a 360 mile trek through the Klamath Mountains known, by those who have hiked it, as a "tree scavenger hunt."

Reviews

[Nathan Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

More than a comprehensive field guide, this book covers almost everything you didn't know you wanted to know about the Klamath Mountains. Occupying northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, the often ignored Klamaths are a gem, sometimes called "The Sierra Light" by Pacific Crest Trail hikers. From the region's flora and fauna to its geology to its fire ecology to its at-odds management by native peoples and later European newcomers, the book covers it in enough depth to entice the reader to get out there and explore. Accompanied by photos and fascinating sidebars, every chapter is fascinating, even if some of them are a little dry.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent detailed natural history book about the Klamath Mountains. I read most of the first half and especially all the fire sections.