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Publication May 20, 2014

Layperson’s Guide to the Klamath River Basin
Published 2023

The Water Education Foundation’s second edition of the Layperson’s Guide to The Klamath River Basin is hot off the press and available for purchase.

Updated and redesigned, the easy-to-read overview covers the history of the region’s tribal, agricultural and environmental relationships with one of the West’s largest rivers — and a vast watershed that hosts one of the nation’s oldest and largest reclamation projects.

Learn how dramatic water shortages and massive salmon die-offs led to a landmark agreement to remove four obsolete hydropower dams blocking salmon passage to hundreds of miles of spawning habitat straddling California and Oregon. 

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Referring Pages

E-mail blast July 14, 2025 Layperson's Guide to the Klamath River Basin

AQUAFORNIA KICKOFF-Inside ‘Revolutionary’ Colo. River Proposal; Trump Proposes Cutting Water Conservation Grants

In today’s Aquafornia scroll:

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E-mail blast June 30, 2025 Layperson's Guide to the Klamath River Basin

AQUAFORNIA KICKOFF-Kaweah Groundwater Basin Escapes State Enforcement; Lake Mead Drops 2 More Feet as Drought Spreads

In today’s Aquafornia scroll:

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E-mail blast June 16, 2025 Layperson's Guide to the Klamath River Basin

AQUAFORNIA KICKOFF-Ariz. Could Get Better Colo. River Deal Under Trump; GOP Lawmakers Try Again on Water Permits

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Western Water August 3, 2023 Layperson's Guide to the Klamath River Basin Klamath River Watershed Map WESTERN WATER: Solar-Paneled Canopies over Canals Catching on in Southwest By Nick Cahill

‘If You Unbuild It, They Will Come’
WESTERN WATER IN-DEPTH: Scientists Chart Transformation of Klamath River and Its Salmon Amid Nation’s Largest Dam Removal Project

The Copco No. 1 dam on the Klamath RiverThe Klamath River Basin was once one of the world’s most ecologically magnificent regions, a watershed teeming with salmon, migratory birds and wildlife that thrived alongside Native American communities. The river flowed rapidly from its headwaters in southern Oregon’s high deserts into Upper Klamath Lake, collected snowmelt along a narrow gorge through the Cascades, then raced downhill to the California coast in a misty, redwood-lined finish.

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Aquapedia background February 10, 2014 Layperson's Guide to the Klamath River Basin Klamath River Watershed Map

Klamath River Basin

Cropland around Upper Klamath Lake in Oregon

The Klamath River Basin is one of the West’s most important and contentious watersheds.

The watershed is known for its unusual geography straddling California and Oregon. Unlike many western rivers, the Klamath does not originate in snowcapped mountains but rather on a volcanic plateau. 

A broad patchwork of spring-fed streams and rivers in south-central Oregon drains into Upper Klamath Lake and down into Lake Ewauna in the city of Klamath Falls. The outflow from Ewauna marks the beginning of the 263-mile Klamath River.

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Publication May 20, 2014
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This item appears in:
  • Topic List: Agriculture
  • Topic: Anadromous Fish Restoration
  • Topic: Legislation — California and Federal
  • Layperson's Guides
  • Topic: Ecosystem
  • Topic: Regulations — California and Federal
  • Topic: Drought
  • Topic: Endangered Species Act
  • Topic: Klamath River
  • Topic: Water History
  • Topic: Water Rights
  • Topic List: Dams, Reservoirs and Water Projects
  • Topic: Energy and Water
  • Topic: Water Quality
  • Topic: Salmon
  • Topic: Hydropower
  • Topic: Watershed
  • Topic: Tribal Water Issues
  • Topic: Wetlands
  • Topic: Water Supply
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