Misplaced Pages

Carquinez Strait

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Carquinez Strait ( / k ɑːr ˈ k iː n ə s / ; Spanish : Estrecho de Carquinez ) is a narrow tidal strait located in the Bay Area of Northern California , United States. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay . The strait is eight miles (13 km) long and connects Suisun Bay , which receives the waters of the combined rivers, with San Pablo Bay , a northern extension of the San Francisco Bay.

#455544

85-702: The strait formed in prehistoric times, near the close of one of the past ice ages, when the Central Valley was a vast inland lake . Melting ice from the Sierra Nevada raised the water level while seismic activity created a new outlet to the Pacific Ocean, draining the lake into the ocean and exposing the valley floors. The strait is named after the Karkin people ( los Carquines in Spanish),

170-656: A drought. In 2014–2015, farm-related losses in California totaled $ 5 billion and 20,000 farmers also lost their jobs. Agriculture is the primary industry in most of the Central Valley. A notable exception is the Sacramento area, which hosts a large and stable workforce of government employees. Despite state hiring cutbacks and the closure of several military bases, Sacramento's economy has continued to expand and diversify and now more closely resembles that of

255-494: A greater difference in the land in a shorter amount of time. According to a survey paper written in 1988 about a storm that occurred in 1982 in the Central Valley region, rainstorms that can cause that type of landslide to happen about every 5 years. Landslides to higher degrees, such as the ones that happened due to the 1982 storm, only occur every 20 to 100+ years. This intense storm in the San Francisco Bay area caused

340-522: A huge lake (now extinct), which has been called Lake Corcoran . Initially, this lake drained into the ocean through a valley near present-day Monterey. However, ongoing seismic activity raised the coastal mountains sufficiently to plug this outlet. Concurrently, ice melting off the Sierras raised the water level in Lake Corcoran until the lake began to carve a new outlet to the ocean. At some point,

425-988: A large expanse of interconnected canals , stream beds , sloughs , marshes and peat islands. The delta empties into the San Francisco Bay , and ultimately into the Pacific. The waters of the Tulare Basin essentially never reach the ocean (with the exception of Kings River waters diverted northward for irrigation), though they are connected by man-made canals to the San Joaquin. The valley encompasses all or parts of 18 California counties: Butte , Colusa , Glenn , Fresno , Kern , Kings , Madera , Merced , Placer , San Joaquin , Sacramento , Shasta , Stanislaus , Sutter , Tehama , Tulare , Yolo and Yuba . Older names include "the Great Valley",

510-654: A linguistic division of the Ohlone indigenous peoples who once resided on both sides of the strait. Andrei Sarna-Wojcicki, a geologist emeritus of the US Geological Survey (USGS), estimates that the Carquinez Strait was likely formed about 640,000 to 700,000 years ago, while much of modern California was emerging from an ice age . The present Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley were covered by

595-419: A lot of damage as a result of moving debris and landslides. They caused damage to the land and put people living in these areas that are susceptible to these disasters in great harm. The aftermath of this storm involved millions of dollars in retributions to restore the land and surrounding areas. It also led people to make greater efforts into planning around the danger of these landslides, as in how to manipulate

680-497: A name still often seen in scientific references (notably Great Valley Sequence ), as well as "Golden Empire", a booster name that is still referred to by some organizations (notably Golden Empire Transit , Golden Empire Council ). Ideas about what constitutes the “Central Valley” can vary from person-to-person. While almost all authoritative sources and external observers consider the Sacramento Valley to be part of

765-757: A predominantly Mediterranean climate , and are primarily within the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion . However, the moister areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains lie within the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion, characterized by forests of Coast redwood . Isolated groves of Coast redwoods are also found in the Big Sur region of the Santa Lucia Range, making them the southernmost natural occurrences of

850-991: A series of pumps that divert water into the California Aqueduct , which runs south along the length of the San Joaquin Valley. In parallel, pumps divert water into the Delta–Mendota Canal . The flow of the Sacramento River is further supplemented by a tunnel from the Trinity River (a tributary of the Klamath River , northwest of the Sacramento Valley) near Redding . Cities of the San Francisco Bay Area , also needing water, built aqueducts from

935-569: A third of California. It consists of three main drainage systems: the Sacramento Valley in the north, which receives over 20 inches (510 mm) of rain annually; the drier San Joaquin Valley in the south, and the Tulare Basin and its semi-arid desert climate at the southernmost end. The Sacramento and San Joaquin river systems drain their respective valleys and meet to form the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta ,

SECTION 10

#1732765703456

1020-772: A transform fault system. During 1877, these deposits hit their peak production of mercury, producing approximately 2,776 metric tons (3,060 short tons). These abandoned mines are still a source of mine waste runoff in Cache Creek and other downstream bodies of water. The Northern Coast Ranges are a section of the California Coast Ranges. They run parallel to the Pacific Coast from the North San Francisco Bay Area to coastal Del Norte County . The Klamath Mountains , including

1105-470: Is Fresno followed by the state capital Sacramento . The following metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are listed from largest to smallest: After English and Spanish , Punjabi is the third most commonly spoken language in the Central Valley. The valley has the largest Sikh population in the nation . The flatness of the valley floor contrasts with the rugged hills or gentle mountains that are typical of most of California's terrain. The valley

1190-524: Is 40–60 mi (60–100 km) wide and runs approximately 450 mi (720 km) from north-northwest to south-southeast, inland from and parallel to the Pacific coast of the state . It covers approximately 18,000 sq mi (47,000 km ), about 11% of California's land area. The valley is bounded by the Coast Ranges to the west and the Sierra Nevada to the east. The Central Valley

1275-664: Is a region known for its agricultural productivity . It provides a large share of the food produced in California. California provides more than half of the fruits, vegetables, and nuts grown in the United States. More than 7,000,000 acres (28,000 km ) of the valley are irrigated via reservoirs and canals. The valley hosts many cities, including the state capital Sacramento , as well as Redding , Chico , Stockton , Modesto , Merced , Fresno , Visalia , Porterville , and Bakersfield . The Central Valley watershed comprises 60,000 square miles (160,000 km ), or over

1360-442: Is ideal for agriculture. The Central Valley is one of the United States' most productive growing regions. This is made possible by engineering the watercourses to prevent flooding during the spring snowmelt and drying up in the summer and autumn. Many dams, including Shasta Dam , Oroville Dam , Folsom Dam , New Melones Dam , Don Pedro Dam , Hetch Hetchy Dam , Friant Dam , Pine Flat Dam and Isabella Dam , were constructed on

1445-448: Is life-threatening or even fatal. Due to the agricultural industry's significant presence in the Valley, pesticide drift and leaching have become concerns. Residents risk contamination when living in proximity to application sites. Air pollution is a growing problem that affects all of the citizens in the Central Valley. Some reasons of poor air pollution in the Central Valley are due to agriculture and its geographical features. Since

1530-403: Is now San Francisco Bay . Over the millennia, the valley filled with the sediments of these same ranges, as well as the rising Sierra Nevada to the east; that filling eventually created an extraordinary flatness just barely above sea level. Before California's flood control and aqueduct system was built, annual snow melt turned much of the valley into an inland sea. The one notable exception to

1615-491: Is part of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn is part of the Pacific Mountain System . The Central Valley was formerly a diverse expanse of grassland, containing areas of prairie , desert grassland (at the southern end), oak savanna , riparian forest , marsh , several types of seasonal vernal pools , and large lakes such as now-dry Tulare Lake (once the largest freshwater lake west of

1700-399: Is released every Thursday, showing which parts of the U.S. are in a drought. It started in 2000, and since then the longest duration of a drought in California lasted a total of 376 weeks. It started on December 11, 2011, and ended on March 5, 2019. The most intense period captured on the drought monitor was on the week of July 29, 2014. It showed that 58.41% of California's land was affected by

1785-547: Is thought to have originated below sea level as an offshore area depressed by subduction of the Farallon Plate into a trench farther offshore. The valley has no earthquake faults of its own but is surrounded by faults to the east and west. The valley was enclosed by the uplift of the Coast Ranges , with its original outlet into Monterey Bay . Faulting moved the Coast Ranges, and a new outlet developed near what

SECTION 20

#1732765703456

1870-445: Is very hot and dry during the summer and cool and damp in winter when frequent ground fog known regionally as " tule fog " can obscure vision. Summer daytime temperatures frequently surpass 100 °F (38 °C), and common heat waves might bring temperatures exceeding 115 °F (46 °C). Mid-autumn to mid-spring is the rainy season —although during the late summer, southeasterly winds can bring tropical thunderstorms, mainly in

1955-471: The California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion, home to a number of plant communities including: mixed evergreen forest ; oak woodland ; and Interior chaparral and woodland . A major specific plant community of the inner ranges is Mediterranean California Lower Montane Black Oak-Conifer Forest , which supports particularly high biodiversity within the California Coast Ranges, including the nominate California Black Oak . Columbian Black-tailed Deer are

2040-649: The Coast Range that forms the strait has led to the formation of the San Joaquin–Sacramento River Delta , an inverted river delta , upstream of it, a rare geological feature. The strait is too small to allow the passage of huge amounts of floodwaters created during years with heavy rainfall or snowmelt events. Because the Delta area is the first to fill and last to drain in a flood event, silt and soil have more time to drop out of suspension, creating

2125-912: The East San Francisco Bay Area , and run south into Santa Barbara County . The Transverse Ranges lie to the south. The San Joaquin Valley is on the east, and Pacific Ocean on the west. The Southern Coast Ranges include the Berkeley Hills , the Diablo Range , the Santa Cruz Mountains , the Gabilan Range , the Santa Lucia Range and Sierra de Salinas , the Temblor Range , and the Sierra Madre . There are Outer Southern Coast Ranges along

2210-480: The Golden Gate . Many of the islands lie below sea level because of intensive agriculture, and face a high risk of flooding, which would allow salt water to rush back into the delta, especially when too little fresh water is flowing in from the Valley. The Sacramento River carries far more water than the San Joaquin, with an estimated 22 million acre-feet (27 km ) of virgin annual runoff, as compared to

2295-713: The King Range , which meet the sea in the " Lost Coast " region. The southernmost peak of the Northern Coast Ranges is Mount Tamalpais . The highest point in the Northern Coast Ranges is Mount Linn , at 8,098 ft. (2,468 m). The Northern Coast Ranges consist of two main parallel belts of mountains, the Outer Northern Coast Ranges lying along the coast, and the Inner Northern Coast Ranges running inland to

2380-575: The Mokelumne River and Tuolumne River that run east to west across the middle part of the Central Valley. Most valley lowlands are prone to flooding, especially in the old Tulare Lake , Buena Vista Lake , and Kern Lake rivers. The Kings , Kaweah , Tule and Kern rivers originally flowed into these seasonal lakes, which would expand each spring to flood large parts of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Farms, towns, and infrastructure in these lakebeds are protected with levee systems, while

2465-705: The Siskiyou Mountains sub-range, lie to the north and northeast. The Southern Coast Ranges lie to the south. The Northern Coast Ranges run north–south parallel to the coast. Component ranges within the Northern Coast Ranges include the Mendocino Range of western Mendocino County and the Mayacamas , Sonoma , and Vaca Mountains and the Marin Hills of the North Bay . They also include

2550-587: The Spanish word chaparro , applied to California scrub oaks and Coastal scrub oaks . Common tree species of oak woodlands include oaks, California bay , and buckeye . Riparian species of the coast ranges include sycamore , white alder , willows , and bigleaf maple . Columbian Black-tailed deer occupy the northern and more coastal portions of the Southern Coast Ranges, and California mule deer occupy inland and southernmost portions of

2635-522: The Tehachapi Mountains . Riverside trees include willows, western sycamore ( Platanus racemosa ), box elder ( Acer negundo ), Fremont cottonwood ( Populus fremontii ), and the endemic valley oak ( Quercus lobata ). Another endemic species is brittlescale ( Atriplex depressa ) which grows in saline and alkali soils. The Central Valley was once home to large populations of pronghorn antelope ( Antilocapra americana ), elk including

Carquinez Strait - Misplaced Pages Continue

2720-692: The Transverse Ranges , Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains . Physiographically , they are a section of the larger Pacific Border province , which in turn is part of the larger Pacific Mountain System physiographic division. UNESCO has included the " California Coast Ranges Biosphere Reserve " in its Man and the Biosphere Programme of World Network of Biosphere Reserves since 1983. The northern end of

2805-550: The Benicia–Martinez Bridge is used by the Capitol Corridor , California Zephyr , and Coast Starlight trains. A rail ferry , with the ferries Contra Costa and Solano provided service across the strait from 1878 near the location of the current rail bridge until the rail bridge was built in 1930. Tall pylons carrying power lines cross the strait as well. The Carquinez Strait Powerline Crossing

2890-589: The California Coast Ranges overlap the southern end of the Klamath Mountains for approximately 80 miles (130 km) on the west. They extend southward for more than 60 miles (97 km) to where the coastline turns eastward along the Santa Barbara Channel , around the area of Point Conception . Here the southern end meets the Los Angeles Transverse Ranges , or Sierras de los Angeles . The rocks themselves that comprise

2975-575: The Carquinez Strait should solve the seawater intrusion problem. In September 1923, the California Legislature appropriated $ 10,000 (equivalent to $ 179,000 today) for a saltwater dam survey. The Federal government added a $ 20,000 contribution ($ 358,000 today) through the US Reclamation Service. Under Reclamation Service rules, another $ 10,000 needed to be raised from local supporters of the project. The necessary money

3060-738: The Central Valley (2007 Data). Early farming was concentrated close to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where the water table was high year-round and water transport was readily available. Subsequent irrigation projects brought many more parts of the valley into productive use. The even larger California State Water Project was formed in the 1950s and construction continued over the following decades. Coast Ranges (California) The Coast Ranges of California span 400 miles (644 km) from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California , south to Santa Barbara County . The other three coastal California mountain ranges are

3145-417: The Central Valley consists mostly of farming land, a wide, flat valley, the emissions from the soil that is used for growing produce are released into the air. The soil exudes nitrous oxide , an odorless and colorless gas that can be harmful when exposed to it for a long period of time, and incorporates itself into the ozone layer located at ground level. Production of nitrous oxide in California has shown that

3230-456: The Central Valley produces 8 percent of the nation's agricultural output by value: US$ 43.5 billion in 2013. California's farms and ranches earned almost $ 50 billion in 2018. The valley's productivity relies on irrigation from surface water and badly depleted underground aquifers . About one-sixth of the US' irrigated land is in the Central Valley. Virtually all non-tropical crops are grown in

3315-523: The Central Valley, which cause 312 landslides to move that year. Slow-moving landslides are impacted even if the intensity of the rainfall is not as severe. Consistent, moderately intense rainfall increases the saturation of water in the ground. This over-saturation is what causes the movement of a slow-moving landslide, rather than the more quick-moving and rigorous landslides that also occur in this region of California. Quick-moving landslides are caused by very intense rain, or sometimes earthquakes, that make

3400-405: The Central Valley, which is the primary source for produce throughout the United States, including tomatoes, grapes, cotton, apricots, and asparagus. Six thousand almond growers produced more than 600 million pounds (270 × 10 ^  kg) in 2000, about 70 percent of the world's supply and nearly 100 percent of domestic production. The US' top four counties in agricultural sales are in

3485-569: The Mississippi), Buena Vista Lake and Kern Lake . However, much of the Central Valley environment has been altered by human activity, including the introduction of exotic plants , notably grasses. The valley's grasslands, wetlands, and riparian forests constitute the California Central Valley grasslands , a temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion . The foothill oak woodlands and chaparral that fringe

Carquinez Strait - Misplaced Pages Continue

3570-610: The Pacific Ocean on the west, and Inner Southern Coast Ranges to the east, inland to the San Joaquin Valley . The central and southern San Francisco Bay and the Salinas Valley lie between them. The highest point of the Southern Coast Ranges is Junipero Serra Peak in the Santa Lucia Range, at 5,862 feet (1,787 m). Other peaks include Mount Diablo at 3,849 feet (1,173 m), and Mount Hamilton at 4,196 feet (1,279 m). The Southern Coast Ranges have

3655-578: The Sacramento River, 26 percent into the San Joaquin, and 27 percent into Tulare Lake. In the south part of the San Joaquin Valley, the alluvial fan of the Kings River and another from Coast Ranges streams have created a divide. The dry Tulare basin of the Central Valley receives flow from four major Sierra Nevada rivers, the Kings, Kaweah , Tule , and Kern . This basin, usually endorheic , formerly filled during snowmelt and spilled out into

3740-616: The Sacramento Valley for about 447 miles (719 km). In the San Joaquin Valley, the San Joaquin River flows roughly northwest for 365 miles (587 km), picking up tributaries such as the Merced River , Tuolumne River , Stanislaus River and Mokelumne River . The Central Valley watershed encompasses over a third of California at 60,000 square miles (160,000 km ), with 46 percent draining into

3825-576: The Sacramento Valley, with its high year-round flow and wide waterways, has been compared to the small and seasonal rivers of the San Joaquin basin; this also contributes to different identities between the two regions. Subregions and their counties commonly associated with the valley include: The four main population centers in the Central Valley area are roughly equidistant from the next. From south to north, they are Bakersfield , Fresno , Sacramento and Redding . These four cities act as hubs for regional commerce and transportation. The table displays

3910-490: The San Francisco Bay Area. Primary sources of population growth are Bay Area migrants seeking lower housing costs, augmented by immigration from Asia, Central America, Mexico, Ukraine, and the rest of the former Soviet Union. The Central Valley is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. More than 230 crops are grown there. On less than 1 percent of the total farmland in the United States,

3995-635: The San Joaquin River. Called Tulare Lake , it is usually dry because the rivers feeding it have been diverted for agricultural purposes. Central Valley rivers converge in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta , a network of marshy channels, distributaries, and sloughs that wind around islands mainly used for agriculture. There the rivers merge with tidewater, and eventually reach the ocean after passing through Suisun Bay , San Pablo Bay , upper San Francisco Bay , and finally

4080-406: The San Joaquin's approximately 6 million acre-feet (7.4 km ). Intensive agricultural and municipal water consumption decreased the rate of outflow to about 17 million acre-feet (21 km ) for the Sacramento and 3 million acre-feet (3.7 km ) for the San Joaquin. These figures vary widely from year to year. Over 25 million people, living in the valley and other regions of

4165-453: The addition of soil and fertilization can emit about 161,100 metric tons per year. Long term effects that nitrous oxide can have on a human being is loss of blood pressure, fainting, anemia, or lung cancer. The physical geographical attributes can also contribute to the air pollution quality. The Central Valley is surrounded by mountain ranges which can capture the pollution coming from the agricultural farming, preventing it from dispersing from

4250-431: The coastal barrier collapsed between today's cities of Crockett and Benicia, releasing lake water in a cataclysmic flood. The strait forms part of the county border between Solano (to the north) and Contra Costa (to the south), and it is approximately 15 mi (25 km) north of Oakland . The cities of Benicia and Vallejo lie on the north side of the strait, while Martinez , Port Costa , and Crockett sit on

4335-579: The counties of Central Valley and their respective population during the 2020 US Decennial Census. Total jobs for each county is from the U.S. Census Bureau, OnTheMap Application and LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (Beginning of Quarter Employment, 2nd Quarter of 2002–2020). As of 2020, some 7.2 million people lived in the Central Valley; it was the fastest-growing region in California. It includes 12 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) and 1 Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). Below, they are listed by MSA and μSA population. The largest city

SECTION 50

#1732765703456

4420-523: The decision-making process that officially named Army Point as the future dam site. Still more wrangling in the legislature was required before the "Salt Water Barrier" was officially adopted in May 1929, and made part of the state water conservation project. On January 24, 1930, with the Great Depression taking hold, President Herbert Hoover cancelled the Carquinez Strait project, saying that it

4505-502: The delta. Large blocks of desert scrubland exist in the southern San Joaquin Valley and the Carrizo Plain , just outside the valley, but offering a similar landscape. The wetlands have been the target of rescue operations to restore areas replaced by agriculture. These patches of natural habitat are disconnected, which is particularly damaging for wildlife that is used to migrating along the rivers. Agriculture, grazing land, and

4590-408: The draining of lakes and rivers have radically altered valley habitats. Most of the grassland has been overtaken by new species; most vernal pools have been destroyed, leaving only those on the higher slopes; the marshland has been drained, and the riverbank woodlands have nearly all been affected. The valley gives its name to Valley fever , which is primarily a disease of the lungs that is common in

4675-588: The east. They are separated by a long system of valleys. The northern valley portion is drained by the Eel River and its tributaries, and the southern by the Russian River . A series of short rivers, including the Mattole , Gualala , and Navarro rivers, drain the western slopes of the ranges. The eastern slopes of the ranges drain into the Sacramento Valley . Clear Lake lies in the southeast portion of

4760-448: The endemic Santa Lucia Fir , the rarest species of fir on earth. The California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion has a great range of plant communities in the Southern Coast Ranges, including mixed evergreen forests , oak woodland and savannas , grasslands , northern coastal scrub , and the Monterey Pine woodlands of the Monterey Peninsula and two other coastal enclaves of the Santa Lucia Range. The name " chaparral " comes from

4845-459: The endemic tule elk subspecies ( Cervus elaphus nannodes ), mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ), California ground squirrels , gophers , mice, hare, rabbits and kangaroo rats , along with their predators including the San Joaquin kit fox (an endangered subspecies surviving on the San Joaquin Valley's hillsides). The valley's wetlands were an important habitat for wintering waterbirds and migrating birds of other kinds. Reptiles and amphibians of

4930-460: The first significant rainfall. The official season is from November 1 to March 31. This phenomenon is named after the valley's tule grass wetlands ( tulares ). Auto collisions caused by the tule fog are the leading cause of weather-related casualties in California. Two river systems drain and define the two parts of the Central Valley. The Sacramento River , along with its tributaries the Feather River and American River , flows southwards through

5015-423: The flat valley floor is Sutter Buttes , the remnants of an extinct volcano just to the northwest of Yuba City . Another significant geologic feature of the Central Valley lies hidden beneath the delta. The Stockton Arch is an upwarping of the crust beneath the valley sediments that extends southwest to northeast across the valley. The Central Valley lies within the California Trough physiographic section, which

5100-476: The inverted river delta feature. Seawater is more dense than fresh water because of its higher concentration of salts. Under stable conditions, this means that an invisible boundary forms where two such streams meet, as where the fresh water from Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers meet the sea water contained in the San Francisco Bay. By the early 20th century, farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta , who depended on irrigating their fields with fresh water from

5185-771: The land to accommodate the consequences. Out of the past twenty-two years, California has experienced significant drought conditions for thirteen years. From 2000 to 2018 was the second driest period that California has ever experienced. The driest three-year period ever in California was from 2012 to 2014. Three-quarters of the state of California is experiencing extreme drought conditions. There are also multiple types of droughts such as agricultural droughts, meteorological droughts, snow droughts, and hydrological droughts. All of these droughts affect California in different ways. Droughts can damage forests and can cause wildfires. Droughts cause forests to become dry which causes trees to die. Dead trees result in wildfires. The U.S. drought monitor

SECTION 60

#1732765703456

5270-416: The most widespread large mammal, after humans, of the Northern Coast Ranges. The rivers in the ranges are home to several species of salmon . The Southern Coast Ranges , of the California Coast Ranges in the Pacific Coast Ranges System, run north and south, parallel to the Pacific Coast in north-central through north-southern California. The Southern Coast Ranges begin on the San Francisco Peninsula and in

5355-405: The mountains are of a great variety and widely varying geologic ages. Most of the rocks were formed during the Tertiary , Cretaceous and Jurassic periods. Most were deposited on the sea bottom as sediments, but in many places also had cracks, crevices and other gaps infused with molten lava or other masses of igneous rock , which were forced in molten condition into the sedimentary rocks. All of

5440-497: The other areas in California. The Central Valley is also expanding in the number of people that coincide in that area, so it increases the number of cars which can also contribute to the amount of emission that is in the air. The northern Central Valley has a hot Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification Csa ); the more southerly parts in rainshadow zones are dry enough to be Mediterranean steppe or even low-latitude desert ( BWh , as in areas around Bakersfield ). It

5525-424: The range has been folded and faulted during several periods, with erosion of the softer rock giving much of the current appearance. The California Ranges had a high production of mercury following the discovery of gold in the Sierra Nevada . In the Cache Creek Basin , Cenozoic cinnabar deposits near Clear Lake are the northernmost of a group of similar deposits associated with volcanism and migration of

5610-416: The range, and drains eastward via Cache Creek . U.S. Route 101 runs generally north–south in the valleys between the Outer and Inner Northern Coast Ranges. The seaward face of the coastal Outer Northern Coast Ranges is part of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion, home to lush forests of Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir . The inland and dryer Inner Northern Coast Ranges are part of

5695-457: The risk of floods damaging properties increased greatly. The Great Flood of 1862 was the valley's worst flood in recorded history, flooding most of the valley and putting some places as much as 20 feet (6.1 m) under water. In 2003, it was determined that Sacramento had both the least protection against and nearly the highest risk of flooding. Congress then granted a $ 220 million loan for upgrades in Sacramento County. Other counties in

5780-465: The rivers, with many of them being part of the Central Valley Project . These dams impact physical, economic, cultural, and ecological resources: for example, enabling the development of its vast agricultural resources but leading to the loss of the Chinook salmon . Post-World War II demand for urban development, most notably the San Francisco Bay Area and the Los Angeles / Inland Empire / San Diego , required water resources. Moreover, agriculture in

5865-406: The small town of Crockett . The strait is crossed by two highway bridges: the Carquinez Bridge on Interstate 80 and the Benicia–Martinez Bridge on Interstate 680 . Each highway bridge consists of two spans. Interstate 780 connects the two highways on the northern slope of the strait. State Route 4 connects these highways south of and inland from the strait. A rail bridge just east of

5950-402: The southern Central Valley required far more water than was available locally. The Feather River in the Sacramento Valley was looked to as a water source, leading to the California State Water Project . This transports water to the southern San Joaquin Valley and urban areas south of the Tehachapi Mountains. Runoff from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers is intercepted in the delta through

6035-410: The southern coast. The Napa River joins the strait, via the short Mare Island Strait , near its entrance into San Pablo Bay. Its watershed covers 62,500 square miles (162,000 km), approximately 40 percent of California's total surface. The California Maritime Academy is at the western end of the strait on the northern waterfront. The C&H Sugar refinery is located on the southern shore in

6120-456: The southern half of the San Joaquin Valley but occasionally to the Sacramento Valley . The northern half of the Central Valley receives greater precipitation than the semidesert southern half. Frost occurs at times in the fall months, but snow is extremely rare. Tule fog / ˈ t uː l iː / is a thick ground fog that settles along the valley's length. Tule fog forms during the late fall and winter (California's rainy season ), after

6205-400: The southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. It is caused by the fungus Coccidioides immitis , which grows in soils in areas of low rainfall, high summer temperatures, and moderate winter temperatures. These fungal spores become airborne when the soil is disturbed by winds, construction, or farming. This illness frequently takes weeks or months to resolve. Occasionally Valley Fever

6290-620: The species. Some of the rarest forest habitat that occurs in the California Coast Ranges are the Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forests of the western Santa Cruz Mountains. These isolated groves may include Ponderosa pine , Douglas fir , and knobcone pine . Notably, the highest slopes of the Santa Lucias contain small patches of Sierran Conifer forest, including incense cedar , and ponderosa, Jeffrey, and sugar pines . Steep rocky slopes harbor

6375-537: The state, rely on the water carried by these rivers. Sierra Nevada runoff provides one of California's largest water resources. The Sacramento River is the second largest river to empty into the Pacific from the contiguous United States , behind only the Columbia River and greater than the Colorado River . Combined with the fertile and expansive area of the Central Valley's floor, the Central Valley

6460-430: The two rivers noticed an increase in salinity farther inland than before. It became obvious that fresh water was being pumped out of the Delta faster than it could be replenished by rain and snow during the wet season. Farmers, businessmen and politicians complained that allowing fresh water to flow to the ocean was wasteful. While many solutions were proposed, few appeared practical. A political consensus formed that damming

6545-502: The valley have been categorized as the California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion. The dominant grass of the valley was Nassella pulchra mixed with other species, but today only 1% of the grassland in the valley is intact. Grassland flowers include California poppy ( Eschscholzia californica ), lupins , and purple owl's clover ( Castilleja exserta ), which can still be seen, especially in Antelope Valley in

6630-569: The valley include the endemic San Joaquin coachwhip snake ( Masticophis flagellum ruddocki ), blunt-nosed leopard lizard ( Gambelia sila ), Gilbert's skink ( Eumeces gilberti ) and the western aquatic garter snake ( Thamnophis couchii ). Endemic invertebrates are present. The Central Valley is home to endemic fish species, including the Sacramento pikeminnow , Sacramento perch , Sacramento blackfish , and Sacramento splittail . The Great Valley Grasslands State Park preserves an example of

6715-493: The valley that often face flooding are Yuba , Stanislaus , and San Joaquin . There is a very strong positive correlation between rainfall and slow-moving landslides in Northern California, especially in the Central Valley region. Changes in climate and precipitation levels have shown that consistent average rainfall has increased the number and intensity of landslides within the past 5–6 years. This information

6800-597: The valley's native grass habitat , while oak savanna habitats survive near Visalia . Areas of wetland and riverside woodland are found in the north, especially by the Sacramento River system, including the Nature Conservancy 's Cosumnes River Preserve just south of Sacramento, Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area , and other patches in the delta area. Remaining vernal pools include Pixley National Wildlife Refuge between Tulare, California , and Bakersfield and Jepson Prairie Preserve in

6885-469: The “Central Valley”, many residents consider the Central Valley to consist of only the San Joaquin Valley . This is perhaps due to significant landscape and cultural differences between the two; the San Joaquin Valley is poorer and drier with more fertile soil, while the Sacramento Valley is wealthier and wetter with poorer soils. The major presence of the Sacramento River and its tributaries in

6970-404: Was raised by March 1924, and the first of three site surveys was announced. The first survey was at Army Point, near Benicia, which was the preferred site based on preliminary studies. The second choice was Dillon Point , near Southampton Bay, while the third survey was at Point San Pablo , near Richmond. The three surveys were completed by the end of 1924. However, it took four years to complete

7055-456: Was shown in a study that focused on the behavior of these slow-moving landslides and how their nature changed with years of extreme average rainfall versus minimal average rainfall. In 2016, the average annual precipitation levels were lower because of a drought that was coming to an end at that time. The minimal rainfall in that year showed that 119 landslides had been moving. Comparatively, in 2017, there were very extreme levels of precipitation in

7140-659: Was the world's first powerline crossing of a large river. The channel is navigable and is used for commercial and military shipping. Deep water ship traffic bound for both the Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton traverse the strait through the Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel and Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel . Carquinez Strait is part of the Baldwin Deepwater Shipping Channel . The narrow gap in

7225-483: Was too costly. All efforts to revive the project failed. Years later, the Central Valley Project attempted to mitigate the effects of seawater intrusion by constructing other dams much farther inland and canals to send fresh water to the San Joaquin Valley. Central Valley (California) The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California . It

#455544