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Blue Dot: California's Magical McCloud River

Middle Falls on the McCloud River
Tyanna Blaschak
/
CalTrout
Middle Falls on the McCloud River

Host Dave Schlom is joined by Curtis Knight, Executive Director of California Trout, for an in-depth look at one of California's crown jewels, the McCloud River near Mt. Shasta.

Also joining Dave and Curtis is Dave's daughter Tyanna Blaschak, CalTrout Project Manager and a fluvial geomorphologist who studies the source waters for the McCloud, fed by amazing springs around Mt. Shasta.

The river is one of unparalleled beauty and diversity with spectacular waterfalls, geology, and biodiversity. It's also the birthplace of "the trout shipped round the world."

In the 1800s, one of the West's first fish hatcheries was created on the McCloud River by Livingston Stone. They shipped rainbow trout from there via rail and ship to places around the globe so from Pennsylvania to Patagonia, rainbow trout can trace their lineage back to these amazing waters.

From amazing fish in pristine turquoise blue waters to spectacular scenery, the McCloud is definitely a jewel in the crown of California's natural wonders.

Tyanna Blaschak
CalTrout
Dave Schlom angling on the McCloud River

Dave Schlom is the longtime host and creator of Blue Dot. From surfing to Voyager in interstellar space, rock guitar to orcas in our imperiled oceans, the topics on Blue Dot are as varied as the host’s interests and connections -- which are pretty limitless! An internationally respected space history journalist, Dave is also deeply fascinated by all aspects of the grand workings of nature’s awesome machinery on scales ranging from galactic to subatomic. And topics take in all aspects of the arts and sciences.
Matt Fidler is a producer and sound designer with over 15 years’ experience producing nationally distributed public radio programs. He has worked for shows such as Freakonomics Radio, Selected Shorts, Studio 360, The New Yorker Radio Hour and The Takeaway. In 2017, Matt launched the language podcast Very Bad Words, hitting the #28 spot in the iTunes podcast charts.