Six Rivers National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the northwestern corner of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It was established on July 1, 1947 by U.S. President Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

 from portions of Klamath

Klamath National Forest

Klamath National Forest is a national forest, in the Klamath Mountains, located in Siskiyou County in northern California, but with a tiny extension into southern Jackson County in Oregon. The forest contains continuous stands of ponderosa pine, Jeffrey pine, Douglas fir, red fir, white fir and...

, Siskiyou and Trinity National Forest

Trinity National Forest

Trinity National Forest was established as the Trinity Forest Reserve by the U.S. Forest Service in California on April 26, 1905 with . It became a National Forest on March 4, 1907. On July 1, 1908 it gave up some acreage to California National Forest. In 1954 it was combined administratively with...

s. Its over one million acres (4,000 km²) of land contain a variety of ecosystems and 137000 acres (554.4 km²) of old growth forest

Old growth forest

An old-growth forest is a forest that has attained great age , and thereby exhibits unique ecological features. An old growth forest has also usually reached a climax community...

. It lies in parts of four counties; in descending order of forestland area they are Del Norte

Del Norte County, California

Del Norte County is a county located at the far northwest corner of the U.S. state of California on the Pacific adjacent to the Oregon border. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 28,610. The county seat is Crescent City, the county's only incorporated city. Del Norte is the abbreviated...

, Humboldt

Humboldt County, California

Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

, Trinity

Trinity County, California

Trinity County is a large, rugged and mountainous, heavily forested county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of California, along the Trinity River and within the Salmon/Klamath Mountains. It covers an area of over two million acres , and as of the 2010 census its population...

, and Siskiyou

Siskiyou County, California

Siskiyou County is a county located in the far northernmost part of the U.S. state of California, in the Shasta Cascade region on the Oregon border. Yreka is the county seat. Because of its substantial natural beauty, outdoor recreation opportunities, and Gold Rush era history, it is an important...

 counties. Six Rivers is named after the six major rivers that pass near or through the forest and include:

• the Eel River
  Eel River (California)
  The Eel River is a major river system of the northern Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. Approximately 200 miles long, it drains a rugged area in the California Coast Ranges between the Sacramento Valley and the ocean. For most of its course, the river flows northwest, parallel to the...
  
  
• the Van Duzen River
  Van Duzen River
  The Van Duzen River is a river on the north coast of California. It is a major tributary of the Eel River and drains , mostly in Humboldt County, with a small portion in Trinity County. The river travels from its headwaters on the west side of the North Coast Range to its confluence with the Eel...
  
   (tributary of the Eel)
• the Klamath River
  Klamath River
  The Klamath River is an American river that flows southwest through Oregon and northern California, cutting through the Cascade Range to empty into the Pacific Ocean. The river drains an extensive watershed of almost that stretches from the high desert country of the Great Basin to the temperate...
  
  
• the Trinity River
  Trinity River (California)
  The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
  
   (tributary of the Klamath)
• the Mad River
  Mad River (California)
  The Mad River is a river in upper Northern California. It flows for in a roughly northwest direction through Trinity County and then Humboldt County, draining a watershed into the Pacific Ocean north of the college town of Arcata near Arcata-Eureka Airport in McKinleyville...
  
  
• the Smith River
  Smith River (California)
  The Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States, approximately long. It drains a rugged area of the Pacific Coast Ranges west of the Siskiyou Mountains just south of the Oregon border and north of the watershed of the Klamath River. The catchment area is...
  
  

The forest has 366 miles (589 km) of wild and scenic rivers, six distinct botanical areas, and public-use areas for camping, hiking, and fishing. The northernmost section of the forest is known as the Smith River National Recreation Area

Smith River National Recreation Area

Smith River National Recreation Area is located northwestern California, United States. The Smith River National Recreation Area is in Six Rivers National Forest and is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Created by Congress in 1990, Smith River...

. Forest headquarters are located in Eureka, California

Eureka, California

Eureka is the principal city and the county seat of Humboldt County, California, United States. Its population was 27,191 at the 2010 census, up from 26,128 at the 2000 census....

. There are local ranger

National Park Ranger

National Park Service Rangers are among the uniformed employees charged with protecting and preserving areas set aside in the National Park System by the United States Congress and/or the President of the United States...

 district offices in Bridgeville

Bridgeville, California

Bridgeville is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located north-northeast of Weott, at an elevation of 636 feet...

, Gasquet

Gasquet, California

Gasquet is a census-designated place southwest of the Oregon border in Del Norte County, California, and northeast of Crescent City, with a population of 515. It lies at an elevation of 381 feet . The ZIP Code is 95543. Its area code is 707...

, Orleans

Orleans, California

Orleans , Karuk name Panamnik, is an unincorporated community in Humboldt County, California. It is located northeast of Weitchpec, at an elevation of 404 feet...

, and Willow Creek

Willow Creek, California

Willow Creek is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California, United States. The population was 1,710 at the 2010 census, down from 1,743 at the 2000 census....

.

Its old-growth forests include Coast Douglas-fir

Coast Douglas-fir

Pseudotsuga menziesii, known as Douglas-fir, Oregon Pine, or Douglas spruce, is an evergreen conifer species native to western North America. Its variety Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii, also known as coast Douglas-fir grows in the coastal regions, from west-central British Columbia, Canada...

 (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii), Tanoak

Tanoak

Tanoak, formerly known taxonomically as Lithocarpus densiflorus, was recently moved into a new genus, Notholithocarpus, based on multiple lines of evidence....

 (Lithocarpus densiflorus), Pacific madrone

Pacific Madrone

Arbutus menziesii, commonly known as the Pacific Madrone, is a species of Arbutus found on the west coast of North America, from British Columbia to California...

 (Arbutus menziesii), and White Fir

White Fir

White Fir is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. It is a medium to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25–60 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m . It is popular as an ornamental landscaping tree and as a Christmas Tree...

 (Abies concolor).

Important Events

• The Patterson-Gimlin film, claimed to be a recording of a Bigfoot
  Bigfoot
  Bigfoot, also known as sasquatch, is an ape-like cryptid that purportedly inhabits forests, mainly in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. Bigfoot is usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid...
  
  , was filmed in this national forest.
• Klamath Mountains
  Klamath Mountains
  The Klamath Mountains, which include the Siskiyou, Marble, Scott, Trinity, Trinity Alps, Salmon, and northern Yolla-Bolly Mountains, are a rugged lightly populated mountain range in northwest California and southwest Oregon in the United States...
  
  

External links

• Official website