THE MODOC COUNTY LAND BRIEF
Land in the
Klamath Juniper Woodland/Devils Garden setting.
Modoc County has 3,948.2 square miles of land in California. 15 mapped landscape regions meet across Modoc County: Klamath Juniper Woodland/Devils Garden, Modoc Lava Flows and Buttes, Warner Mountains, among others.
On the Cascades' drier eastern side, open pine forests mingle with volcanic cones, buttes and basins. Larger river valleys and lake basins interrupt the surrounding uplands.
Regional context: Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills ↗ · Regional mapping across the county footprint
Where the landscape changes
Modoc County intersects 15 mapped regional units. The largest mapped shares are:
- Klamath Juniper Woodland/Devils Garden25.4%
- Modoc Lava Flows and Buttes13.1%
- Warner Mountains11.4%
- Pit River Valleys9.9%
- Pluvial Lake Basins8%
Northern Basin and Range in Modoc County
Lava plains, stony uplands, dry valleys and scattered ranges form the Northern Basin and Range. Sagebrush and grassland give way to juniper and other woodland in higher or rockier settings.
Read the regional source ↗Cascades in Modoc County
Volcanic mountains, deeply cut stream valleys and glaciated high country define the Cascades. Conifer forests change with elevation, giving way to mountain meadows and rocky alpine terrain.
Read the regional source ↗Finding your parcel within Modoc County
The atlas lists 13 cities, towns, townships, and Census communities associated with Modoc County, including California Pines, Lake City, Lookout. The list includes overlapping geography types and does not divide the county into exclusive service areas.
Modoc County by land and water
The Census records 255 square miles of water within Modoc County, or 6.1% of its total area. That share is close to Modoc County’s 6.1%. This is geographic context; waterfront status and usable land must be checked at the parcel.
For scale, Modoc County has 4,774.2 times the land area of nearby Daphnedale Park CDP (0.83 square miles). These areas describe boundaries, not comparable property prices.
The Census boundary meets Lassen County, Shasta County, Siskiyou County within California. A tract near one of these lines should be matched to the county identifier on its own records.

