Modoc National Forest

The Warner Mountain Range
This range, a spur of the Cascade Mountain Range, was named in memory of Captain W. H. Warner of the United States Army Engineers, who was killed by Native Americans in 1849 while making an examination of the routes from Humboldt Valley to the Sacramento River.

The Warners make up the eastern portion of the Modoc National Forest, bound on the east by Surprise Valley, and on the west by Goose Lake and the Devil's Garden Plateau. The range extends north to south approximately 80 miles and east to west 10 miles. Highway 2 crosses the Warner Mountains at Cedar Pass dividing the range into two sections—North Warners and South Warners. The west face of the Warners has moderate to steep slopes while the eastern face is very steep, with the elevation ranging from 5,000 to more than 9,900 feet.

The Warner Mountains offer a variety of recreational opportunities that include fishing in lakes, streams, reservoirs and the Pit River; camping in beautiful and picturesque locations; hunting the Rocky Mountain Mule Deer and the pronghorn; hiking in the South Warner Wilderness and on the Blue Lake National Recreational Trail, or sightseeing.

The District office at Cedarville is at the base of the Warner Mountains. Cedarville has a population of about 750 residents. Three other towns in Surprise Valley increase the valley population to about 1,500. Ranching and farming dominate Surprise Valley, with many ranches still run by the original homesteading families. Western heritage plays an important role in local activities and lifestyles.

Surprise Valley has many of the amenities offered by larger communities including full retail, restaurant and hotel services; six churches; library; a performing arts troupe; medical services/hospital; and outreach college courses.

Twelve developed campgrounds/dispersed recreation areas are available for camping or picnicking. Some campgrounds have piped water and modest comforts; others are more primitive.

The District boasts two National Recreation Trails (NRT). Blue Lake NRT encircles Blue Lake in the South Warners, and Highgrade NRT runs through the heart of the North Warners. The District offers over 100 miles of trails for hiking or horseback riding.

Blue Lake
A beautiful deep-blue 160-acre lake surrounded by ponderosa pine, white fir trees, and meadows. It is located approximately 15 miles east of Likely, California, and 85 miles south of Alturas, California, in the South Warner Mountains. The road to the lake is a paved all-weather road.

At an elevation of 6,000 feet it is a natural lake that sustains a good population of rainbow and brown trout. A boat ramp is available for launching boats. The Blue Lake Campground is a fee campground containing 48 units with piped water, stoves, vault toilets, and picnic tables, handicap accessible restrooms and trails to the fishing pier. The managed season of use is from Memorial Day through October.

Devil's Garden Research Natural Area (RNA)
Located west of Goose Lake in the Devil's Garden Ranger District, this RNA was established in February 1933. At 5,000 feet elevation, the Devil's Garden RNA consists of 800 acres of open stands of Western Juniper, with sagebrush, bitterbrush, rabbitbrush, bunchgrasses, and annuals on an expansive plateau littered with volcanic rock. The RNA is not fenced, but signs are posted along the perimeter. Basalt flows occurring in the north to northwest block-faults are traceable by the more dense growth of juniper in that area. Frost mounds 40 to 100 feet in diameter are common in the RNA; this is unusual since frost mounds normally occur at higher elevations or farther north.

Medicine Lake Highlands
The Medicine Lake Highlands volcanic area exceeds 200 square miles in Modoc and Siskiyou counties, and takes in portions of three National Forests: the Modoc, Klamath, and Shasta/Trinity. Medicine Lake Highland, the largest identified volcano within California, is one of the most unique geological areas in North America.

The northeastern tip of the Medicine Lake Highlands is located in the western section of the Modoc National Forest in the southwestern corner of the Doublehead Ranger District. It is approximately 14 miles south of the Lava Beds National Monument and 35 miles southwest of Tulelake, California. It is an area of moderately sloping to steep mountains. Vegetation consists of sugar pine, red and white fir, and, at higher elevations, lodgepole pine with an understory of bitterbrush, manzanita, and snowbrush.

Geological Features
The Medicine Lake Highlands was formed with the development of a broad shield volcano. The center block collapsed along fractured lines, creating an enclosed basin or caldera, six miles long by four miles wide. Lava then squeezed up the fracture lines, forming the rim volcano. These discharged lava onto the caldera floor and down the outer edges of the original shield volcano, sealing the original fractures. When you visit the Medicine Lake Highlands, you will see most of the rim volcano, including Mt. Hoffman, Medicine Mountain, Badger Peak, Grouse Hill, Red Shale Butte, and Lyons Peak.

This land of "rocks that float and mountains of glass," which was believed to resemble the moon, was selected for study by astronauts from the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, during the summer of 1965 in preparation for the first manned moon landing.

Cultural Heritage
The Medicine Lake Highlands lies within an ill-defined boundary area between the Modoc and Achomawi, or Pit River, Indian territories. The Modocs had a summer village, Lani'shwi, in the Medicine Lake basin.

Obsidian was quarried from flows at Glass Mountain by the Modoc, Achemawi, Shasta, and Wintu, and was traded to other Indian groups more than 100 miles away. There is abundant evidence of this quarry activity and other evidence of prehistoric Indian tradition.

"Big medicine" rites took place at the location known today as Medicine Lake. In 1879, when the Medicine Lake Highlands was surveyed by the General Land Office, the records indicate that "Crystal Lake" was the original name given to Medicine Lake.

Logging activities commenced in the late 1920s and peaked by the 1940s. Today there are remnants of these early rail logging activities throughout the area, consisting of old railroad grades, skid roads and logging camps.

You can help preserve America's past by leaving archaeological and historic remains undisturbed, encouraging others to do the same, and reporting information about the remains to National Forest personnel. Artifacts and sites on public lands are protected by the Antiquities Resources Protection Act of 1979.

Points of Interest
(1) Medicine Lake: Standing on the shore of Medicine Lake surrounded by beautiful trees, it may be hard to believe that this was once the center of a volcano. It has no known outlets, yet its water remains clear. The lake has been measured to have a depth of 100 feet and may be deeper. At 6,700 feet, Medicine Lake offers boating, swimming, waterskiing, fishing, camping, and picnicking.

(2) Glass Mountain: Covering 4,210 acres east off Medicine Lake, this glass flow has been designated as a Special Interest Area for its unique geological feature—glassy dacite and rhyolitic obsidian flowed from the same vent simultaneously without mixing. Glass Mountain exhibits the results of multi-stage volcanic activity so recent that there has been no modification by weathering, erosion, or vegetative cover. Take care not to handle or walk on the obsidian, as a slip can cause a serious puncture or laceration.

(3) Burnt Lava Flow: Located southeast of Medicine Lake and south of Glass Mountain, this designated Special Interest Area is one of the youngest flows in the area, estimated to be 200 years old. The forested "islands" of sugar, ponderosa, and lodgepole pine and white fire timber that break up the 8,760 acres of jet-black lava stand undisturbed.

(4) Medicine Lake Glass Flow: Located just off the road less than a mile north of Medicine Lake, this designated Special Interest Area covers 570 acres with dull stoney-grey dacite 50 to 150 feet deep. It is estimated to be 1,000 (+/-200) years old.

(5) Little Mt. Hoffman Lookout: The lookout is used only occasionally by the Forest Service during storms. The view from this point is spectacular, with Mt. Shasta dominating, Little Glass Mountain in the foreground, and Mt. Lassen and Mt. McLaughlin in the background.

(6) Lava Beds National Monument: Personnel at the headquarters can recommend many points of interest within the Monument.

(7) Undertakers Crater: This was originally a vent or fissure from which material was extruded. Gas probably became trapped in the fissure causing one or more large explosions, along with other faulting activity contributing to the formation of Undertakers Crater and others similar to it.

Camping
Hemlock, Headquarters, Hogue, and Medicine campgrounds located on Medicine Lake charge a fee for overnight camping. The 72 campsites are on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations are NOT taken.

Camping outside of a developed campground is PROHIBITED within 1/2 mile of Medicine Lake. Small lakes, such as Little Medicine Lake, Bullseye Lake, and Blanche Lake offer the visitor a chance to get away and enjoy dispersed recreational activities. The lakes are set among tall beautiful trees, and the scenery is breathtaking.