Modoc National Forest

The Modoc National Forest protects parts of Modoc (82.9% of acreage), Lassen (9.4%), and Siskiyou (7.7%) counties. Most of the forest was covered by immense lava flows occurring over the last 500,000 years.

The eastern part of the forest east of Alturas contains the Warner Mountains. The Warner Mountains drop steeply on the eastern slopes, whereas the western flank has a more gentle topography.

File:Modoc-map.png

Due to the elevation and precipitation differences, the forests hosts a large number of plant species. The western side of the brushy foothills consist mostly of bitterbrush and curl-leaf mahogany. As elevation increases, forests of ponderosa pine, white and red firs, incense cedar, and aspen give way to lodgepole and western white pines sprinkle towards the summit. Some {{convert|43400|acre|km2}} of the forest have been identified as old growth, with lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, white fir, incense cedar, and red fir being common constituents.{{Citation

| last1 = Warbington | first1 = Ralph

| last2 = Beardsley | first2 = Debby

| year = 2002

| title = 2002 Estimates of Old Growth Forests on the 18 National Forests of the Pacific Southwest Region

| url = http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/rsl/publications/oldgrowth/oldgrowth2002.html

| publisher = United States Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region

}}

Modoc National Forest was established as the Modoc Forest Reserve on November 29, 1904, by the United States General Land Office. It was named for the Modoc people who traditionally had their territory in this area. In 1905 federal forests were transferred to the U.S. Forest Service, and on March 4, 1907, they became National Forests. On July 1, 1908 Warner Mountains National Forest was added to Modoc.{{citation|title=National Forests of the United States|url=http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/places/National%20Forests%20of%20the%20U.S.pdf|date=September 29, 2005|author=Davis, Richard C.|publisher=The Forest History Society|access-date=August 13, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028014355/http://www.foresthistory.org/ASPNET/Places/National%20Forests%20of%20the%20U.S.pdf|archive-date=October 28, 2012|url-status=dead}} The South Warner Wilderness lies within the forest.

Forest headquarters are located in Alturas, California. There are local ranger district offices located in Adin, Alturas, Cedarville, and Tulelake.

• List of plants on the Modoc National Forest
• List of national forests of the United States

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Modoc National Forest}}

• [http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/modoc/ Official Modoc National Forest website]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060620213726/http://ceres.ca.gov/geo_area/bioregions/Modoc/about.html CERES - Overview of the Modoc Bioregion]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100329183641/http://www.virtualguidebooks.com/NorthCalif/MountLassen/MountLassen.php Don Bain's VirtualGuidebooks to Mount Lassen and the Modoc Plateau]

{{Protected areas of California|NF}}

{{National Forests of the United States}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:National forests of California

Category:Modoc Plateau

Category:California placenames of Native American origin

Category:Protected areas of Lassen County, California

Category:Protected areas of Modoc County, California

Category:Protected areas of Siskiyou County, California

Category:1904 establishments in California

Category:Protected areas established in 1904