Can anyone enlighten me how Pigeon Cliffs, located in the Susan River Canyon, just west of Susanville received its name? A good portion of my childhood during the 1960s was spent exploring the Susan River Canyon. In all my years, I never seen any pigeons there. Some of the rock debris below the cliffs came from when Highway 36 was being constructed into Susanville in 1921, and the contractor pushed the rocks over the cliffs to make the current roadway.