Road Trip: Modoc Plateau

     The Mayor hit the road over the 4th of July: not the usual route, not the usual road trip.  The destination was the remote  northeast corner of the state: Modoc County, California- the land that God forgot, almost.  The county butts up against the State of Nevada on its east side, and Siskiyou County on the west side, and the State of Oregon on the north.   It's high desert: dry, inter-mountain/basin plateau, averaging 5,000' elevation.  Notable land marks include Mt. Dome at 6518' ;  Bonita Bu

Watch Tower Tule Lake Internment Center

Barracks Building: Tule Lake Internment Camp

tte at 5006'; Mahogany Mt. at 6255' ; and Lava Beds Nat. Monument.  In the center are Mt. Hoffman at 7913' and Medicine Mt. at 7506'.  It is also Indian country, ancestral lands of the Modoc Nation.  Captain Jack's Stronghold is also found here, near Tule lake.  Evidence of volcanic activity is everywhere one looks: old lava flows, isolated buttes made of old basalt plugs rise from the plains.
      Near the Oregon border, the basins hold water in the form of Tule lake: a shallow basin lake, often looking like it could join other ancient water sources that have long since dried up.  This water has given rise to a thriving agricultural industry that has existed in this corner for over 100 years.
     What crops might you ask?   Potatos, alfalfa, rye grass, and some cover crops.  Water does not appear to be a problem as sprinklers were in operation in various locations.  So much for the 25% state req'd reduction in usage.
      During WW II, the camp was home to Japanese Americans who were uprooted and relocated from their homes throughout the state and the WEST.  A sorry statement on Roosevelt's presidency.  Later in the war, Italian POW's were sent here to work in the fields.  They were followed by Nazi soldier POW's , about 800, who were sent from the battle fields of Europe.  Interesting side story to the war effort.  Very little remains of the camp:  most of the buildings were sold to locals and moved to various nearby sites.  The 1 barracks in the photo is all that remains of the scores of similar structures within the fence of the camp.   Not a pretty picture.  The small museum is barely able to convey the true story.   Some memoirs would be advised, of which there are a few.