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McArthur-Burney Falls
Memorial State Park
24898 Hwy. 89
Burney, CA 96013
(530) 335-2777
© 2005 California State Parks (rev. 9/2007) Printed on Recycled Paper
H igh on the eastern boundary of the
Cascade Range, McArthur-Burney Falls
winter to 80 degrees or more during the drier
summer months. Between November and
herbs and mosses.
Winter villages,
Memorial State Park sits on the western March, rainfall averages nearly 28 inches, with which might
Modoc plateau halfway between Mount December and January being the wettest. be used for as
Shasta and Lassen Peak. The falls’ two main Layered clothing is advised. much as six
cataracts of plunging white water originate months, often
PARK HISTORY
from Burney Creek, a tributary of the Pit consisted of bark
For thousands of years, several native groups
River. Across the basalt face of the cliff, houses or partly
lived here. The earliest known residents,
thousands of rivulets issue through the subterranean
the Ilmawi people, looked upon the falls as a
porous rock from five underground aquifers lodges. In warmer
sacred place. Though there is little evidence
fed by rain and snowmelt, giving the falls a weather the people
of their presence left in the park, it is known
feathery, enchanted appearance. occupied Pit River Indian Women
that they shared the abundance of this area
On sunny days the mist above the basin of houses built (Achumawi Tribe) ca. 1880,
with other native groups.
blue water at the bottom of the falls is often of brush and James F. Morehead, photographer.
Two major subgroups of the people now Image courtesy of the Meriam
alight with rainbow colors. In the fall the other light
known as the Pit River Nation—the Atsugewi Library, CSU Chico
pool reflects the rich colors of autumn leaves, materials.
and the Achumawi— shared a similar culture.
while winter often brings a lacy array of tiny Burney Falls
The name “Pit” refers to a hunting method in
icicles to decorate the face of the cliff. On and the sapphire pool at its base are still
which the hunters dug deep pits to trap such
a visit to the falls, an enthralled President important to the Pit River people.
large game animals as antelope, deer and the
Theodore Roosevelt pronounced them one Non-Indian encroachment into this
occasional elk. Salmon and trout were a vital
of the wonders of the world. peaceful place began as early as the 1820s
part of the native people’s diet. Small game
The climate in this area 65 miles east of and ’30s, with the influx of fur trappers.
included squirrels, rabbits, ducks, geese,
Redding is In 1843 New Jersey native Pierson B.
sage hens
dictated by its Reading, destined to become a leading
and quail.
predominantly citizen of Shasta County, described the
The land also
mountainous falls in his diary. After the 1846 Treaty of
provided an
topography. Guadalupe Hidalgo, the native people’s
abundance
The park’s claims on the land were totally ignored.
of acorns,
highest By the mid-1850s, European and American
bulbs, tubers,
elevation settlers were homesteading their lands.
seeds and
is nearly Though the native groups tried to
grasses, while
3,100 feet. fight for their rights, their attempts
medicinal
Temperatures brought about the vengeful destruction
needs were
range from by European-Americans of a totally
served by
average lows of blameless village along Beaver Creek.
various trees,
20 degrees in In 1857 the U.S. Army established Fort
Drawing of Shaste Peak by Charles Wilkes
Image courtesy of the Meriam Library, CSU Chico
Crook as a peacekeeping presence, John and Catherine
attracting even more European-American McArthur arrived in the 1860s,
settlers. By the time Fort Crook closed purchased thousands of acres,
in 1867, those Indians who had not died and opened a mercantile
from European-borne diseases, or been store in the area. In 1917
moved to the Round Valley Reservation in the newly formed Pacific Gas
Mendocino County, were eking out a scarce and Electric Company began
living as day laborers. buying up land and water rights in the area.
Burney Falls was named after Samuel Alarmed residents became concerned that