General
The Klamath Project covers territory in Klamath County, Oregon, and Siskiyou and Modoc counties in northern California.
Klamath Falls, Merrill, Bonanza and Malin, Oregon, and Tulelake, California, comprise communities on the project.
Clear Lake Dam and Reservoir, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake lie south of the Oregon-California border.
Gerber Dam and Reservoir, Upper Klamath Lake, Link River Dam, Lost River, Miller, Malone and Anderson-Rose Diversion Dams occupy Oregon territory.
History
Irrigation of agricultural lands in the area now comprising the Klamath Project was initiated in 1882 with construction of an irrigation ditch to the land from White Lake.
Private interests further developed the project by constructing the Adams Canal in 1886, which was supplied also from White Lake, and the Ankeny Canal in 1887, which diverted water from Link River.
By 1903, approximately 13,000 acres were irrigated by private interests.
Construction
Construction began on the project in 1906 with the building of the main 'A' Canal. Water was first made available May 22, 1907, to the lands now known as the Main Division.
This initial construction was followed by the completion of Clear Lake Dam in 1910, the Lost River Diversion Dam and many of the distribution structures in 1912, and the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam in 1921. (In 1970, a public dedication at the Lower Lost River Diversion Dam officially changed the name of the structure to Anderson-Rose Diversion Dam.)
The Malone Diversion Dam on Lost River was built in 1923 to divert water to Langell Valley.
The Gerber Dam on Miller Creek was completed in 1925; the Miller Diversion Dam was built in 1924 to divert water released from Gerber Dam. A contract executed Feb. 24, 1917, between the California-Oregon Power Company (now the Pacific Power and Light Company) and the United States authorized the company to construct Link River Dam for the benefit of the project and for the company’s use, and in particular extended to the water users of the Klamath Project certain preferential power rates. The dam was completed in 1921.
The contract was amended and further extended for a 50-year period April 16, 1956. Project reservoirs offer various recreational activities, including boating, water skiing, fishing, hunting, camping and picnicking.
Recreation facilities at Lower Klamath Lake, Tule Lake, and Upper Klamath Lake are administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service. The Bureau of Land Management administers Gerber Reservoir recreation facilities, while facilities at Malone and Wilson Reservoirs are administered by the Bureau of Reclamation. Clear Lake Reservoir is a part of Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge, and the recreation opportunities are limited.
Plan
Events on the Klamath Project mirrored events in the western United States. The project witnessed labor fluctuations and homefront activities during war.
The agreement between Reclamation and California-Oregon Power, leading to construction of the Link River Dam, created an unusual circumstance in Reclamation projects. A power company building and operating a dam on a project, did not often occur.
Most important the Klamath Project participated in the ongoing quest for water, indigenous to the American west, and answered the increasing demand for irrigation. Facilities on the Klamath Project continue to provide a large population with a variety of services.
Other
The Project provides full service water to approximately 240,000 acres of cropland.
The irrigable lands of the Klamath Project are in south-central Oregon (62 percent) and north-central California (38 percent).
Temperatures on the project range from -24 to 105 degrees.
Overview
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