The Klamath Region

Subregion descriptions

Six distinct subregions are identified in this assessment. They are based, in part, on physiographic characteristics, but also on transportation corridors, economies, commute patterns, community identification, and other information collected in the local workshops. While similar in many respects, these subregions represent relatively distinct social and economic areas. Delineation of subregions permits identification of local patterns and trends, and provides an additional perspective for this analysis. The geographic extent of the six subregions is depicted in Figure 3.

FIGURE 3: Subregions of the Klamath region

The North Coast subregion includes the California counties of Del Norte and Humboldt. Due to the natural barrier of the Coast Range, this subregion is relatively isolated from the rest of northern California and the remainder of the Klamath region. Many communities in this subregion are currently closely tied to the timber industry, while others, with a largely diminished modern-day timber-employment, retain a strong historical connection. The correctional institution in Fort Dick is a significant factor in the economy of the northern end of the subregion. Unlike the remainder of the Klamath region, much of the forest land ownership in the subregion is dominated by industrial private companies rather than federally controlled national forests, particularly in the Humboldt County portion of the North Coast. The Hoopa Indian Reservation and the Yurok Indian Reservation are also significant components of both the landscape and the population of the subregion. The backbone of the North Coast subregion is the coastal highway, Route 101, linking most of the communities of the area together.

The Rogue subregion includes the Oregon counties of Josephine and Jackson. This subregion is dominated by the metropolitan areas associated with Medford, and to a lesser extent Grants Pass. The economy of the area is diverse and includes links to the timber industry. The upper Rogue River Valley is a well-established agricultural area. It is bordered by the Siskiyou mountains to the south and the southern end of the Cascade Range to the east, and access to the rest of the Klamath region is limited to a few transportation corridors. U.S. Route 199 links the western portion of the subregion to the northern part of the North Coast. Oregon State Highways 62 and 140 connect the Medford metropolitan area to Crater Lake and Klamath Falls in the Modoc Plateau subregion. Interstate 5 links the southeastern portion of the subregion to the Siskiyou Corridor subregion to the south.

The Modoc Plateau subregion includes Klamath County in Oregon, Modoc County to the south in California, and the eastern upland areas of Siskiyou and Shasta Counties in California, including the towns of Burney and Johnson Park. Most of this subregion lies to the east of the Cascade crest. The economy of much of the subregion is linked to agriculture and, to a lesser extent, forest management and recreation. Klamath Falls is the primary urban area within the subregion, although it does not serve as the primary urban center for all the communities in the subregion.

The Siskiyou Corridor subregion includes the central portion of Siskiyou County centered around Interstate 5, as well as the entire western part of Siskiyou County. It also includes the northern portion of Shasta County around Interstate 5 at Castella. Several communities in this subregion are tied to the timber industry, but, like other areas, this is diminishing. The western portion of this subregion has close ties to adjacent areas in the North Coast subregion and is dominated by national forest land ownership. The eastern portion of the subregion is heavily influenced by the economic effects of Interstate 5, which links the area to southern Oregon to the north, Redding and the rest of northern California to the south, and to Mount Shasta, which acts as a central draw for recreational activities.

The Trinity subregion is composed solely of Trinity County. Surrounded by rugged terrain and federal wilderness areas, the communities of this area are some of the most remote in the Klamath region. The economy is closely linked to the management of the largely federal forest lands that dominate the area, but while there are close ties to the timber industry, in some areas there is little or largely diminished current-day timber-related employment. State Highway 299 links many of the communities of the subregion and is one of the few transportation corridors between the North Coast subregion and the rest of the Klamath region.

The Northern Sacramento Valley subregion includes the greater metropolitan area associated with the Shasta County portion of Interstate 5 and the cities of Redding, Anderson and Cottonwood as well as many of the adjacent rural areas within Shasta County. This subregion is primarily a metropolitan center with a diverse economy. The manufacturing sectors of the economy have strong links to the forest products industry.

Population distribution

The Klamath region is dominated by four urban areas. Thirty-seven percent of the regional population lies in the four largest aggregations of Redding, Medford, Eureka and Klamath Falls, which range in population from 42,549 to 82,690. The largest of these four aggregations is the greater Redding area, with 82,690 people, and the average size of the four is 51,273. Nearly 60 percent of the 130 aggregations, however, have populations between 1,000 and 5,000 people, and another 23 percent of the aggregations have fewer than 1000 people. Figure 4 shows the percentage of aggregations by population range. Figure 5 shows the percentage of total region population within five aggregation population ranges.

FIGURE 4: Percentage of aggregations by aggregation population range

FIGURE 5: Percentage of total Klamath region population by aggregation population range

A dominant feature of the Klamath region is Interstate 5, which runs through three of the six subregions. Based on census block level spatial analysis, nearly half of the Klamath region's population resides within five miles of Interstate 5. Thirty-seven percent are within only two miles of the Interstate. Figure 6 illustrates the distribution of aggregation populations across the Klamath region, and Figure 7 compares the population totals of each of the six subregions.

The isolated North Coast subregion accounts for 23 percent of the population of the Klamath region. Over half of the population of this subregion resides within two miles of the Pacific Ocean coast. The most populated aggregation in the North Coast is Eureka. With a population of 42,549, it is also the third most populated aggregation in the Klamath region. The 34 aggregations in the North Coast have a median population of 1,694. The five most populated aggregations of Eureka, Arcata, Crescent City, McKinleyville and Fortuna account for two-thirds of the subregion's population. Three of the smallest aggregations have populations under 500. Pepperwood/Redcrest, Honeydew/ Petrolia, and Yurok have population totals of 419, 439 and 448, respectively. The North Coast also has the aggregations with the highest percentages of Native American populations in the Klamath region. Eighty-one percent and 69 percent of the populations of the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation and Yurok aggregations, respectively, are Native American. Several other aggregations have Native American populations greater then 15 percent, including Klamath Area (Del Norte), Orleans, and Chiloquin/Fort Klamath. The North Coast subregion has the largest incarcerated population in the Klamath region. Most of this group are included in the Fort Dick aggregation where 41 percent of the population are prisoners. Primarily due to the prison, the Fort Dick aggregation also has the highest percentage of Black persons (16 percent) and the third highest percentage of Hispanics (20 percent) in the Klamath region. The Smith River Area has the highest percentage of Hispanic persons (22 percent) of any aggregation in the region.

FIGURE 6: Population distribution by population-weighted aggregation center points

FIGURE 7: Population of the Klamath region by subregion

Due to the urban nature of much of the I-5 corridor in Jackson and Josephine Counties, the Rogue subregion is the most populous in the Klamath region. Medford alone, with a population of 57,387, represents 27 percent of the 209,038 people in the Rogue subregion. The urban centers of Grants Pass, Ashland, Phoenix/Talent, and Central Point account for another 31 percent of the area's population. Sixty-six percent of the population of the subregion reside within five miles of Interstate 5. The median population size of the 40 aggregations in the Rogue is 2,370. The two smallest aggregations are Butte Falls, with 462 people, and O'Brien, with a population of 593.

The sparsely populated Modoc Plateau subregion represents less then eleven percent of the total population of the Klamath region. With a population of 45,158, the Klamath Falls aggregation is, by far, the largest of the 17 aggregations in the subregion, and accounts for 57 percent of the total population. The second largest aggregation of Alturas/Calpine/Likely has a population of 5,156, while the smallest is Davis Creek/New Pine Creek with a population of 447. The median aggregation population is 2,108. The Tulelake/Newell aggregation has the second highest percentage of Hispanic persons (21 percent) of any aggregation in the region, while the Merrill/Malin aggregation in Klamath County has the fourth highest percentage of Hispanic persons (17 percent).

The Siskiyou Corridor subregion is sparsely populated relative to the rest of the region dominated by Interstate 5. Nonetheless, over two thirds of the people in the subregion live within two miles of the Interstate. The most populated aggregations are Yreka, Mount Shasta, and Weed, which together represent half of the subregion's population. The smallest aggregation is Castella/La Moine/South Dunsmuir in northern Shasta County. The median population size of the 13 aggregations in the Siskiyou Corridor is 2,703.

With the smallest subregion population in the study area, Trinity also includes some of the smallest aggregation populations in the Klamath region. The aggregations of Hoaglin/Kettenpom/Zenia/Lake Mountain and Hyampom have populations of 229 and 293, respectively. The total of 11 aggregations in Trinity have a median population size of 786. The two aggregations of Hayfork and Weaverville, with respective populations of 3,652 and 2,888, together represent 50 percent of the total population of the Trinity subregion.

The Northern Sacramento Valley subregion is the second largest in the Klamath region. Redding, the largest aggregation in the study area, accounts for 60 percent of the total subregion population. Redding is also the eighth most densely populated aggregation in the region. The Redding aggregation has the largest population of Native Americans (2,071) and the largest population of Hispanics (2,906) in the Klamath region. The mostly urban populations of Anderson, Shasta Lake/Mountain Gate, and Cottonwood account for another 19 percent of the area. Seventy-six percent of the Northern Sacramento Valley subregion population lives within five miles of Interstate 5. Fifty-four percent is within only two miles. While the Redding aggregation has a population of 82,690, the median population for the subregion is 3,419. With a population of 523, the French Gulch aggregation is the smallest.

Concentrations of population with low socioeconomic status

The majority of the populace in the lower end of the socioeconomic scale appears to reside in a relatively small number of aggregations. Over 50 percent of the children under 15 years of age in households receiving some public assistance income in the Klamath region are in only six percent of the aggregations, and over 50 percent of unemployed persons reside in only eight percent of the aggregations. Over 50 percent of persons over the age of 25 with less than a high school or equivalent education live in eight percent of the aggregations. Likewise, over 50 percent of persons in poverty reside in only seven percent of the aggregations. Included in all four of these categories are the most populated aggregations of Redding, Eureka, Medford, Klamath Falls, and Crescent City.

While the majority of the region's population with low socioeconomic status may reside within relatively few large aggregations, a number of community aggregations, while small, have considerably higher percentages of persons in poverty, individuals with low education levels, and children under 15 years of age who live in households receiving some public assistance income. From a community perspective, these higher percentages lead to reduced socioeconomic status and contribute to lower overall well-being for the entire community.