Alturas, California

File:Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Co. General Office Building 2 (cropped).jpg, built 1917–18]]

File:California - Alturas through Amargosa - NARA - 23934073 (cropped).jpg

File:Alturas California 1975.jpg

Alturas occupies what was initially an Achumawi (Pit River) village known as Kosealekte{{cite web|url=http://www.usacitiesonline.com/cacountyalturas.htm |title=Welcome to Key to the City's page for Alturas, Modoc County, California |access-date=April 3, 2010 |last=Thorne |first=Samuel |year=1997 |work=Community pages |publisher=Key to the City }} or Kasalektawi.{{cite book | last = Pease | first = Robert W. | title = Modoc County; University of California Publications in Geography, Volume 17 | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1965 | location = Berkeley and Los Angeles | page = 47 }} The city was initially known as Dorris Bridge or Dorris' Bridge, named after Pressley and James Dorris, who built a bridge across the Pit River at this location.

The Dorris Bridge post office opened in 1871. The town was renamed Dorrisville in 1874{{cite book | last = Pease | first = Robert W. | title = Modoc County; University of California Publications in Geography, Volume 17 | publisher = University of California Press | year = 1965 | location = Berkeley and Los Angeles | page = 84 }} and Alturas in 1876, the latter meaning "heights" in Spanish.{{cite book|first=Erwin|last=Gudde|author2=William Bright |title=California Place Names|year=2004|edition=Fourth|publisher=University of California Press|pages=10|isbn=978-0-520-24217-3}} The census of 1880 showed a population of 148. However, settlement continued over the next two decades, until the city was incorporated on September 16, 1901. Because of its central location, Dorrisville became the county seat when Modoc County formed in 1874, even though both Adin and Cedarville were then larger towns.

Alturas straddles the North Fork of the Pit River, near its confluence with the South Fork in the north end of South Fork Valley, in the extreme northeastern corner of California at {{Coord|41|29|14|N|120|32|33|W|type:city}}. The tall Warner Mountains lie to the east, the wetlands and wild rice fields of South Fork Valley to the south, and the extensive Modoc Plateau to the north.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of {{convert|7.4|km2|sqmi|order=flip}} and 0.63% of it is covered by water.

The climate in Alturas is cold semi-arid (Köppen: BSk), bordering humid continental (Dsb). The average January temperatures are a high of {{convert|43.0|F|C|1}} and a low of {{convert|20.6|F|C|1}}. The average July temperatures are a high of {{convert|89.1|F|C|1}} and a low of {{convert|47.2|F|C|1}}. There are an average of 39.8 days with highs of {{convert|90|F|C|1}} or higher and an average of 195.5 days with lows of {{Convert|32|F|C}} or lower. The record high was {{convert|107|F|C|1}} on July 19, 1960, and July 10–11, 2002, and the record low was {{convert|-34|F|C|1}} on December 9, 1972. Freezing temperatures have occurred in every month of the year; cool nights are common even on the hottest summer days.

Precipitation averages {{convert|11.68|in|mm|0}} annually. There are an average of 90.8 days with measurable precipitation. The wettest year was 1952 with {{convert|20.80|in|mm|0|abbr=on}} and the driest year was 2013 with {{convert|6.29|in|mm|0|abbr=on}}. The most precipitation in one month was {{convert|6.17|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} in October 1962, and the most in 24 hours was {{convert|3.51|in|mm|1|abbr=on}} on December 11, 1937. Snowfall averages {{convert|30.9|in|cm|abbr=on}} per season. The most snowfall in a season was {{convert|85.5|in|cm|abbr=on}} in 1952.

{{Weather box

|location = Alturas, California (Alturas Municipal Airport), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1935–present

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high F = 69

|Feb record high F = 72

|Mar record high F = 82

|Apr record high F = 85

|May record high F = 95

|Jun record high F = 105

|Jul record high F = 107

|Aug record high F = 106

|Sep record high F = 106

|Oct record high F = 93

|Nov record high F = 82

|Dec record high F = 71

|Jan avg record high F = 56.6

|Feb avg record high F = 60.4

|Mar avg record high F = 69.4

|Apr avg record high F = 76.5

|May avg record high F = 85.3

|Jun avg record high F = 93.2

|Jul avg record high F = 99.1

|Aug avg record high F = 98.0

|Sep avg record high F = 92.8

|Oct avg record high F = 82.1

|Nov avg record high F = 69.5

|Dec avg record high F = 55.2

|year avg record high F = 100.3

|Jan high F = 43.0

|Feb high F = 46.6

|Mar high F = 52.7

|Apr high F = 58.4

|May high F = 67.9

|Jun high F = 78.2

|Jul high F = 89.1

|Aug high F = 87.3

|Sep high F = 79.7

|Oct high F = 65.7

|Nov high F = 50.8

|Dec high F = 41.0

|year high F =

|Jan mean F = 31.8

|Feb mean F = 34.8

|Mar mean F = 39.6

|Apr mean F = 44.3

|May mean F = 52.5

|Jun mean F = 60.2

|Jul mean F = 68.2

|Aug mean F = 65.8

|Sep mean F = 58.5

|Oct mean F = 47.5

|Nov mean F = 37.7

|Dec mean F = 30.5

|year mean F =

|Jan low F = 20.6

|Feb low F = 23.0

|Mar low F = 26.5

|Apr low F = 30.1

|May low F = 37.2

|Jun low F = 42.2

|Jul low F = 47.2

|Aug low F = 44.2

|Sep low F = 37.2

|Oct low F = 29.3

|Nov low F = 24.5

|Dec low F = 20.0

|year low F =

|Jan avg record low F = -0.5

|Feb avg record low F = 6.2

|Mar avg record low F = 11.1

|Apr avg record low F = 17.5

|May avg record low F = 23.9

|Jun avg record low F = 30.3

|Jul avg record low F = 36.4

|Aug avg record low F = 34.4

|Sep avg record low F = 26.0

|Oct avg record low F = 15.5

|Nov avg record low F = 5.9

|Dec avg record low F = -0.6

|year avg record low F = -7.1

|Jan record low F = -32

|Feb record low F = -33

|Mar record low F = -7

|Apr record low F = 7

|May record low F = 14

|Jun record low F = 21

|Jul record low F = 28

|Aug record low F = 26

|Sep record low F = 15

|Oct record low F = 0

|Nov record low F = -17

|Dec record low F = -34

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation inch = 1.31

|Feb precipitation inch = 1.09

|Mar precipitation inch = 1.38

|Apr precipitation inch = 1.47

|May precipitation inch = 1.26

|Jun precipitation inch = 0.70

|Jul precipitation inch = 0.29

|Aug precipitation inch = 0.27

|Sep precipitation inch = 0.35

|Oct precipitation inch = 0.89

|Nov precipitation inch = 1.20

|Dec precipitation inch = 1.47

|year precipitation inch =

|unit precipitation days = 0.01 in

|Jan precipitation days = 11.0

|Feb precipitation days = 10.7

|Mar precipitation days = 11.3

|Apr precipitation days = 10.7

|May precipitation days = 8.6

|Jun precipitation days = 4.6

|Jul precipitation days = 2.0

|Aug precipitation days = 2.1

|Sep precipitation days = 2.9

|Oct precipitation days = 5.2

|Nov precipitation days = 9.6

|Dec precipitation days = 12.1

|Jan snow inch = 8.4

|Feb snow inch = 6.2

|Mar snow inch = 5.4

|Apr snow inch = 2.9

|May snow inch = 0.9

|Jun snow inch = 0.0

|Jul snow inch = 0.0

|Aug snow inch = 0.0

|Sep snow inch = 0.0

|Oct snow inch = 0.3

|Nov snow inch = 3.5

|Dec snow inch = 6.6

|year snow inch =

|unit snow days = 0.1 in

|Jan snow days = 4.0

|Feb snow days = 3.3

|Mar snow days = 2.6

|Apr snow days = 1.4

|May snow days = 0.4

|Jun snow days = 0.0

|Jul snow days = 0.0

|Aug snow days = 0.0

|Sep snow days = 0.0

|Oct snow days = 0.3

|Nov snow days = 1.8

|Dec snow days = 3.3

|Jan snow depth inch = 4.4

|Feb snow depth inch = 3.0

|Mar snow depth inch = 2.6

|Apr snow depth inch = 1.1

|May snow depth inch = 0.4

|Jun snow depth inch = 0.0

|Jul snow depth inch = 0.0

|Aug snow depth inch = 0.0

|Sep snow depth inch = 0.0

|Oct snow depth inch = 0.2

|Nov snow depth inch = 1.6

|Dec snow depth inch = 2.6

|year snow depth inch = 5.6

|source 1 = NOAA

{{cite web

|url = https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=normals-monthly-1991-2020&stations=USW00094299&format=pdf&dataTypes=MLY-TMAX-NORMAL,MLY-TMIN-NORMAL,MLY-TAVG-NORMAL,MLY-PRCP-NORMAL,MLY-SNOW-NORMAL

|publisher = National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

|title = U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Alturas MUNI AP, CA

|access-date = January 21, 2023

}}

|source 2 = National Weather Service (snow/snow days 1935–2018)

{{cite web

|url = https://www.weather.gov/wrh/climate?wfo=mfr

|publisher = National Weather Service

|title = NOAA Online Weather Data – NWS Medford

|access-date = January 21, 2023

}}

}}

{{US Census population

|1880= 148

|1910= 916

|1920= 979

|1930= 2338

|1940= 2090

|1950= 2819

|1960= 2819

|1970= 2799

|1980= 3025

|1990= 3231

|2000= 2892

|2010= 2827

|2020= 2715

|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015}}

}}

File:Sacred Heart Catholic Church 2 - Alturas California.jpg]]

The 2020 United States census reported that Alturas had a population of 2,715. The population density was {{convert|957.3|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of Alturas was 78.0% White, 1.1% African American, 4.1% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.3% Pacific Islander, 6.0% from other races, and 9.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.3% of the population.

The census reported that 99.2% of the population lived in households, 0.3% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.6% were institutionalized.

There were 1,199 households, out of which 31.6% included children under the age of 18, 35.2% were married-couple households, 7.9% were cohabiting couple households, 35.0% had a female householder with no partner present, and 21.9% had a male householder with no partner present. 35.6% of households were one person, and 17.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.25. There were 702 families (58.5% of all households).

The age distribution was 24.8% under the age of 18, 6.4% aged 18 to 24, 24.5% aged 25 to 44, 24.6% aged 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65{{nbsp}}years of age or older. The median age was 38.9{{nbsp}}years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males.

There were 1,393 housing units at an average density of {{convert|491.2|/mi2|/km2|disp=preunit|units |units|}}, of which 1,199 (86.1%) were occupied. Of these, 55.6% were owner-occupied, and 44.4% were occupied by renters.{{cite web |title=Alturas city, California; DP1: Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDP2020.DP1?g=1600000US0601444 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}}{{cite web |title=Alturas city, California; P16: Household Type - 2020 Census of Population and Housing |url=https://data.census.gov/table/DECENNIALDHC2020.P16?g=1600000US0601444 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}}

In 2023, the US Census Bureau estimated that the median household income was $54,634, and the per capita income was $31,725.{{cite web |title=Alturas city, California; DP03: Selected Economic Characteristics - 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates Comparison Profiles |url=https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDP5Y2023.DP03?g=1600000US0601444 |website=US Census Bureau |access-date=March 31, 2025}}

{{more citations needed section|date=February 2013}}

File:Modoc County Courthouse - Alturas California.jpg

Alturas is the headquarters to the Modoc National Forest, the Applegate Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management, the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and other recreation areas, and is the trade center for the agricultural region, which produces beef, sheep, potatoes, alfalfa and lumber. Despite its abundance of wilderness, recreational opportunities, hunting and fishing resources, and natural environment, tourism is not a major sector of the local economy – largely due to the city's remote location.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}}

Local, State, Federal, and Tribal governments are the largest employers in Alturas.[http://www.labormarketinfo.edd.ca.gov/cgi/databrowsing/localAreaProfileQSResults.asp?selectedarea=Modoc+County&selectedindex=25&menuChoice=localAreaPro&state=true&geogArea=0604000049&countyName= Modoc County Profile], State of California Employment Development Department, accessed March 10, 2013 A vibrant timber industry collapsed in the early 1980s due to increased production costs and low market prices for softwood lumber.

The Modoc Joint Unified School District is headquartered in Alturas.[http://www.modoc.k12.ca.us/ Modoc Joint Unified School District]

The Alturas Rancheria, a band of Pit River Indians, operates a small casino just outside the city limits.[http://500nations.com/casinos/caDesertRose.asp Desert Rose Casino.] 500 Nations. (retrieved February 23, 2009)

In the California State Legislature, Alturas is in {{Representative|casd|1|fmt=sdistrict}},{{Cite web |url=http://senate.ca.gov/senators |title=Senators |access-date=March 10, 2013 |publisher=State of California}} and {{Representative|caad|1|fmt=adistrict}}.{{Cite web |url=http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers |title=Members Assembly |access-date=March 2, 2013 |publisher=State of California}}

In the United States House of Representatives, Alturas is in {{Representative|cacd|1|fmt=district}}.{{Cite GovTrack|CA|1|access-date=March 2, 2013}}

File:NCO Depot platform side - Alturas California.jpg, built 1908]]

{{unreferenced section|date = February 2013}}

Alturas is served by U.S. Route 395 and California State Route 299. U.S. 395 comes in from the south from Susanville and Reno. State Route 299 comes in from the west from Redding. Both highways merge in Alturas and head out of the city as a concurrency northeast toward Lakeview, Oregon; and Cedarville, respectively.

The Modoc Subdivision track of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Lake County Railroad (of Lake County, Oregon) serve the area. Alturas Municipal Airport is a public-use, general aviation facility located {{Convert|1|nmi|mi km|spell=in}} west of the city's central business district.

• Kayte Christensen, WNBA basketball player{{cite web|url=http://www.bigwest.org/sports/wbball/info/review/0102/awards.asp |title=Awards and Honors: UC SANTA BARBARA'S CHRISTENSEN NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE YEAR |website=bigwest.org/ |access-date=March 6, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402121725/http://www.bigwest.org/sports/wbball/info/review/0102/awards.asp |archive-date=April 2, 2015 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/comets/news/Comets_Add_Kayte_Christensen-173320-222.html |title=Comets Add Kayte Christensen |access-date=October 7, 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017204901/http://www.wnba.com/comets/news/Comets_Add_Kayte_Christensen-173320-222.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.wnba.com/comets/news/Christensen_Rejoins_Comets-180006-222.html |title=Christensen Rejoins Comets |access-date=March 7, 2015 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017204816/http://www.wnba.com/comets/news/Christensen_Rejoins_Comets-180006-222.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007 }}
• Ernest S. Brown, former United States Senator from Nevada {{CongBio|B000913}} Retrieved on April 7, 2008
• John E. Raker (1863–1926), Congressman from California (served 1911–1926) and author of the Raker Act{{CongBio|R000019|name=Raker, John Edward|inline=1}}
• Robert "Top Gun" Hight, NHRA drag racer John Force Racing{{cite web |title=Robert Hight |url=https://www.nhra.com/drivers/robert-hight/691 |work=National Hot Rod Association |date=2018 |access-date=August 5, 2018}}

{{Portal|California}}

• Modoc County Historical Museum
• California Historical Landmarks in Modoc County

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category|Alturas, California}}

• {{Official website|http://www.cityofalturas.us/}}
• {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020202072621/http://www.cityofalturas.org/|date=February 2, 2002 |title=City of Alturas}}

{{Modoc County, California}}

{{California county seats}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Cities in Modoc County, California

Category:County seats in California

Category:Incorporated cities and towns in California