Etymology At its founding in 1867, Klamath Falls was named Linkville. The name was changed to Klamath Falls in 1892–93. The name
Klamath () may be a variation of the descriptive native for "people" (in
Chinookan) used by the
Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau to refer to the region.
History The
Klamath and
Modoc peoples were the first known inhabitants of the area. The Modocs' homeland is about south of Klamath Falls, but when they were forced onto a reservation with their adversaries, the Klamath, a rebellion ensued and they hid out in nearby
lava beds. This led to the
Modoc War of 1872–1873, which was a hugely expensive campaign for the US Cavalry, costing an estimated $500,000, the equivalent of over $8 million in 2000. 17 Indigenous people and 83 Americans were killed. The
Applegate Trail, which passes through the lower Klamath area, was blazed in 1846 from west to east in an attempt to provide a safer route for emigrants on the Oregon Trail. The first non-Indigenous settler is considered to have been Wallace Baldwin, a 19-year-old civilian who drove fifty head of horses in the valley in 1852. In 1867, George Nurse named the small settlement "Linkville" because of
Link River north of
Lake Ewauna. The
Klamath Reclamation Project began in 1906 to drain marshland and move water to allow for agriculture. With the building of the main "A" Canal, water was first made available on May 22, 1907. Veterans of World War I and World War II were given homesteading opportunities on the reclaimed land. During
World War II, a Japanese-American
internment camp, the
Tule Lake War Relocation Center, was located in nearby
Newell, California, and a satellite of the
Camp White, Oregon,
POW camp was located just on the Oregon–California border near the town of
Tulelake, California. In May 1945, about east of Klamath Falls, (near
Bly, Oregon) a Japanese
Fu-Go balloon bomb killed a woman and five children on a church outing. This is said to be the only Japanese-inflicted casualty on the US mainland during the war. Timber harvesting through the use of railroad was extensive in Klamath County for the first few decades of the 20th century. With the arrival of the
Southern Pacific Transportation Company in 1909, Klamath Falls grew quickly from a few hundred to several thousand. Dozens of lumber mills cut fir and pine lumber, and the industry flourished until the late 1980s when the
northern spotted owl and other endangered species were driving forces in changing western forest policy. On September 20, 1993,
a series of earthquakes struck near Klamath Falls. Many downtown buildings, including the county courthouse and the former Sacred Heart Academy and Convent, were damaged or destroyed; further, two people were killed.
Water rights controversy downstream
whitewater falls, from which Klamath Falls gets its name The city made national headlines in 2001 when a court decision was made to shut off Klamath Project irrigation water on April 6, 2001 because of
Endangered Species Act requirements. The
Lost River sucker and
shortnose sucker were listed on the Federal
Endangered Species List in 1988, and when drought struck in 2001, a panel of scientists stated that further diversion of water for agriculture would be detrimental to these species, which reside in the
Upper Klamath Lake, as well as to the protected
Coho salmon which spawn in the
Klamath River. Many protests by farmers and citizens culminated in a "
Bucket Brigade" on Main Street May 7, 2001, in Klamath Falls. The event was attended by 18,000 farmers, ranchers, citizens, and politicians. Two giant bucket monuments have since been constructed and erected in town to commemorate the event. Such universal criticism resulted in a new plan implemented in early 2002 to resume irrigation to farmers. Low river flows in the Klamath and
Trinity rivers and high temperatures led to a mass die-off of at least 33,000 salmon in 2002. Dwindling salmon numbers have practically shut down the fishing industry in the region and caused over $60m in disaster aid being given to fishermen to offset losses. 90% of Trinity River water is diverted for California agriculture. As much as 90% of the Trinity's water, which would otherwise flow into the Klamath and out to sea, instead rushes south toward California's thirsty center. A contrary report has criticized the National Academy of Sciences report. and are preparing for a potential standoff situation with the government.
Geothermal heating Klamath Falls is located in a known geothermal resource area.
Geothermal power has been used directly for
geothermal heating in the area since the early 1900s. A downtown district heating system was constructed in 1981 and extended in 1982. There was public opposition to the scheme. Many homes were heated by private geothermal wells, and owners were concerned that the city system could lower the water level and/or reduce water temperatures. System operation was delayed until 1984 following an
aquifer study. Full operational testing showed no negative impact on the private wells. The system was shut down again in 1986 after multiple distribution piping failures were discovered. By 1991, the distribution piping had been reconstructed, and the system was again operating. The system has been expanded since then, and according to the
Oregon Institute of Technology, the operation is "at or near operational break-even". The system is used to provide direct heat for homes, city schools, greenhouses, government and commercial buildings, geothermally heated
snowmelt systems for sidewalks and roads, and process heat for the wastewater treatment plant.
Air quality According to the
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in 2012, significant efforts are being made to improve the air quality in the Klamath Basin. ==Geography==