Golf in Alturas

Alturas is the county seat of Modoc County, located in the far northeastern corner of California near the Oregon border. The city occupies a high desert valley at roughly 4,400 feet elevation, with the Warner Mountains to the east and the Modoc Plateau spreading to the west. Modoc County ranks among the least populated in California, and Alturas functions as the commercial center for surrounding ranches and small communities spread across a vast, sparsely settled region. US Highway 395 provides the main north-south connection through the area. The local economy centers on cattle ranching, limited timber, and county government employment. Winter temperatures drop sharply in this high-elevation interior valley, and the terrain transitions from sagebrush and juniper at lower elevations to conifer forest on the mountain slopes above the city. Alturas sits far from the major metropolitan centers of the state, giving it an isolated character unique among California county seats.