The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. Nearly 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) of the Modoc National Forest are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the Warner Mountains in the east.
Its landform is volcanic table land ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level, cut by many north–south faults. "Occasioned lakes, marshes, and sluggishly flowing streams meander across the plateau."[1]
It is a thick accumulation of lava flows and tuff beds, along with many small volcanic cones.[1] It has cinder cones, juniper flats, pine forests, and seasonal lakes.[2] The plateau is thought to have been formed approximately 25 million years ago as a southern extension of the Columbia Plateau flood basalts.[3]
- ^ a b ‘’California Geologic Provinces,’’ Note 36, page 2 Archived 2016-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Sugihara, Neil G. (2006). Fire in California's ecosystems. University of California Press. p. 225.
- ^ Schoenherr, A.A. (1992). Natural History of California. University of California Press. p. 61. ISBN 0-520-06922-6.