Siskiyou Mountains

Siskiyou Mountains
Forest in the Siskiyou Mountains in California
Highest point
Peak	Mount Ashland[1]
Elevation	7,532 ft (2,296 m)[2]
Coordinates	42°04′51″N 122°43′02″W / 42.08083°N 122.71722°W / 42.08083; -122.71722[3]
Geography
Siskiyou Mountains Location of Siskiyou Mountains in California[4] Map of the Siskiyou Range
Country	United States
States	Oregon and California
Counties[4]	Del Norte County, California Siskiyou County, California Jackson County, Oregon Josephine County, Oregon
Range coordinates	41°49′59″N 123°40′04″W / 41.83306°N 123.66778°W / 41.83306; -123.66778[4]

The Siskiyou Mountains are a coastal subrange of the Klamath Mountains, and located in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon in the United States. They extend in an arc for approximately 100 miles (160 km) from east of Crescent City, California, northeast along the north side of the Klamath River into Josephine and Jackson counties in Oregon. The mountain range forms a barrier between the watersheds of the Klamath River to the south and the Rogue River to the north. Accordingly, much of the range is within the Rogue River – Siskiyou and Klamath national forests, and the Pacific Crest Trail follows a portion of the crest of the Siskiyous.

These mountains are not the highest of the Klamath Mountains, but because of the relief so close to the Pacific Ocean, the peaks receive significant precipitation from the ocean, including wintertime snow on the peaks. Western canyons can receive over 100 inches (2,500 mm) of rain in some winters and are densely forested, while eastern areas are more arid.^[5] The greatly varied topography and climate contribute to high biodiversity, and the Siskiyous are noted for a number of endemic species.