Gauge Conditions

Klamath River near Klamath CA Downstream Primary

Runnable: 500.0 – 100,000.0 CFS

Range for best boatability uncertain. Please help your fellow paddlers by providing a comment or report.

Data from American Whitewater & USGS

Photo

Photo courtesy of American Whitewater

Description

Where Blue Creek meets the Klamath River, it forms the first major cold-water refuge for returning salmon on their journey inland from the Pacific. Studies show that Chinook holding in Blue Creek can lower their body temperature by as much as eight degrees Fahrenheit. This cool-down period is critical to their survival—without it, most Chinook would likely perish before reaching their spawning grounds in the upper Klamath.