116-415: The Cross Valley Corridor is a proposed passenger rail service in the California Central Valley , connecting Visalia , Hanford , Porterville , and surrounding cities to each other and California High-Speed Rail 's planned Kings–Tulare Regional Station . The 80-mile (130 km) route is proposed to run east–west, mostly along existing tracks. These rights-of way were originally constructed in
232-727: A 10-acre (4.0 ha) orchard and a herd of 13,000 cattle. Fort Sutter became a regular stop for the increasing number of immigrants coming through the valley. In 1847, Sutter Sr. received 2,000 fruit trees, which started the agriculture industry in the Sacramento Valley. Later that year, Sutter Sr. hired James Marshall to build a sawmill so he could continue to expand his empire, but unbeknownst to many, Sutter Sr.'s "empire" had been built on thin margins of credit. In 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma (some 50 mi or 80.5 km northeast of
348-1129: A day or two of light rainfall in May or October. The normal annual mean temperature is 61.8 °F (16.6 °C), with the monthly daily average temperature ranging from 47.3 °F (8.5 °C) in December to 75.9 °F (24.4 °C) in July. Summer heat is sometimes moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta from the San Francisco Bay , and temperatures cool down sharply at night. The foggiest months are December and January. Tule fog can be extremely dense, lowering visibility to less than 100 feet (30 m) and making driving conditions extremely hazardous. Chilling tule fog events have been known to last for several consecutive days or weeks. During Tule fog events, temperatures do not exceed 50 °F (10 °C). Snowfall
464-656: 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
580-405: A final plan. The line was included in the 2018 California State Rail Plan as part of the 2040 Vision. Central Valley (California) The Central Valley is a broad, elongated, flat valley that dominates the interior of California . It 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
696-494: 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
812-921: 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",
928-419: 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
1044-417: A massive adobe structure with walls 18 feet (5.5 m) high and three feet (0.91 m) thick. Representing Mexico, Sutter Sr. called his colony New Helvetia , a Swiss-inspired name, and was the political authority and dispenser of justice in the new settlement. Soon, the colony began to grow as more and more pioneers headed west. Within just a few short years, Sutter Sr. had become a grand success, owning
1160-553: A month 761 structures were re-built, many of them in brick. In spite of all these hardships the new city's location just downstream from the Mother Lode in the Sierra Nevada proved irresistible, and it grew rapidly during the early 1850s, attracting a population of 10,000. The Great Flood of 1862 from December 1861 to January 1862 caused the worst flooding in Sacramento's history. In 1861, Governor Leland Stanford , who
1276-497: 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
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#17327939469691392-685: A new store at 12th and K street, the US$ 2 ;million Senator Hotel was opened, Sacramento's drinking water became filtered and treated drinking water, and Sacramento boxer Georgie Lee fought Francisco Guilledo , a Filipino professional boxer known as Pancho Villa, at L Street Auditorium on March 21. Early in World War II, the Sacramento Assembly Center (also known as the Walerga Assembly Center)
1508-991: 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
1624-401: A small Chinatown mall remains as well as a museum dedicated to the history of Sacramento's Chinatown. The Newton Booth Historic District, named for Newton Booth , is located on the southeast corner of Sacramento's original 1848 street grid. The oldest part of the town besides Sutter's Fort is Old Sacramento , which consists of cobbled streets and many historic buildings, several from
1740-546: 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 ,
1856-470: 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
1972-505: 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
2088-448: 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
2204-403: 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
2320-491: 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
2436-511: Is rare in Sacramento, which is only 25 ft (8 m) above sea level . In the downtown area, only three significant snow accumulations have occurred since 1900, the last one being in 1976. During especially cold winter and spring storms, intense showers do occasionally produce a significant amount of hail, which can create hazardous driving conditions. Snowfall in the city often melts upon ground contact, with traceable amounts occurring in some years. Significant annual snow accumulations occur in
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#17327939469692552-399: 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
2668-471: Is still possible to view portions of the " Sacramento Underground ". The city's current charter was adopted by voters in 1920. As a charter city , Sacramento is exempt from many laws and regulations passed by the state legislature . The city has expanded continuously over the years. The 1964 merger of the City of North Sacramento with Sacramento substantially increased its population, and large annexations of
2784-603: Is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County . Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California 's Sacramento Valley , Sacramento's 2020 population of 524,943 makes it the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, the sixth-most populous in the state , the ninth-most populous state capital, and
2900-607: 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
3016-445: 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
3132-596: The 35th most populous in the United States . Sacramento is the seat of the California Legislature and the governor of California . Sacramento is also the cultural and economic core of the Greater Sacramento area , which at the 2020 census had a population of 2,680,831, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in California. Before the arrival of the Spanish , the area was inhabited by
3248-480: 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
3364-575: 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
3480-590: The Natomas area eventually led to significant population growth throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Sacramento County (along with a portion of adjacent Placer County ) is served by a customer-owned electric utility, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). Sacramento voters approved the creation of SMUD in 1923. In April 1946, after 12 years of litigation, a judge ordered Pacific Gas & Electric to transfer
3596-632: The Nisenan , Maidu , and other indigenous peoples of California . In 1808, Spanish cavalryman Gabriel Moraga surveyed and named the Río del Santísimo Sacramento (Sacramento River), after the Blessed Sacrament . In 1839, Juan Bautista Alvarado , Mexican governor of Alta California , granted the responsibility of colonizing the Sacramento Valley to Swiss -born Mexican citizen John Augustus Sutter , who subsequently established Sutter's Fort and
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3712-465: 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 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
3828-569: The Sacramento Public Library , and K Street , a historic street home to apartments, retail, and historical buildings. In addition, Downtown Sacramento is home to several hotels including the Citizen Hotel, housed in one of the first skyscrapers built in the city. East Sacramento is a neighborhood in between Midtown and Sacramento State. This neighborhood is well known for being home to McKinley Park and Rose Garden and
3944-534: The Sacramento River . Sutter Jr. and Brannan had United States Army Captain William H. Warner assigned to draft the official layout of the city, which included 26 lettered and 31 numbered streets (today's grid from C St. to Broadway and from Front St. to Alhambra Blvd.) Relations between Sutter and his son became embittered after Sacramento became an overnight commercial success. (Sutter's Fort, Mill, and
4060-522: 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
4176-759: The UC Davis School of Medicine . In 2013, the Sacramento Convention and Visitors Bureau stated that the city receives 15.3 million visitors per year, and is home to the California Museum , Crocker Art Museum , California State Railroad Museum , California State Capitol Museum , the Sacramento Convention Center Complex , and Old Sacramento State Historic Park . Nisenan (Southern Maidu ), Modoc , and Plains Miwok American Indians have lived in
4292-1437: The farm-to-fork movement, which promotes the consumption of locally-grown food). After 4,000 displeased citizens signed a petition protesting the change, officials agreed to include both slogans on the water tower. The city groups most of its neighborhoods into four areas: Additional prominent regions and neighborhoods in the region include American River Parkway, Arden-Arcade, Arden Fair, Cal Expo, Capital Avenue, Coffing, College Glen, College Greens, Cordova, Creekside, East Fruitridge, Elder Creek, Elkhorn, Elvas, Erikson Industrial Park, Excelsior Sunrise, Foothill Farms, Franklin, Frates Ranch, Gateway Center, Gateway West, Glenwood Meadows, Hansen Park, Heritage Park, Johnson Business Park, Johnson Heights, Mayhew, Metro Center, Mills, Natomas Corporate Center, Natomas Creek, Natomas Crossing, Natomas Park, Newton Booth, Noralto, Northpointe, Norwood, Oak Knoll, Old North Sacramento, Parker Homes, Point West, Raley Industrial Park, Regency Park, Richardson Village, Richmond Grove, Rosemont, Sierra Oaks, Sports Complex, Strawberry Manor, Sundance Lake, Swanston Palms, Town and Country Village, Upper Land Park, Village 5, Village 7, Village 12, Village 14, Village Green, Walerga, Walsh Station, West Del Paso Heights, Westlake, Willowcreek, Wills Acres, Winn Park, Woodside, and Youngs Heights. Capitol Mall connects West Sacramento and Downtown Sacramento. Some notable landmarks on this road include
4408-446: The 1850s and 1860s. Buildings have been preserved, restored, or reconstructed, and the district is now a substantial tourist attraction, with rides on steam-powered historic trains and horse-drawn carriages. The Poverty Ridge Historic District is within Sacramento's original 1848 street grid and bounded to the west by 21st Street, to the north by S Street, to the east by 23rd Street, to the south by W Street and U.S. Route 50, and includes
4524-711: The 1870s and 1880s by the Southern Pacific Railroad , which founded all the cities along the corridor when it first laid tracks, with the exception of the older city of Visalia. The tracks are currently owned by the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR), with the San Joaquin Valley Railroad operating on nearly all of the corridor, except for a 1 mi (1.6 km) portion of the Union Pacific mainline connecting
4640-723: The Blessed Sacrament.)" The valley and the river were then christened after the "Most Holy Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ," referring to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist . John Sutter Sr. first arrived in the area on August 13, 1839, at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers with a Mexican land grant of 50,000 acres (20,000 ha). The next year, he and his party established Sutter's Fort,
4756-691: 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. Sacramento, California Sacramento ( / ˌ s æ k r ə ˈ m ɛ n t oʊ / SAK -rə- MEN -toh ; Spanish: [sakɾaˈmento] ; Spanish for ' sacrament ')
Cross Valley Corridor - Misplaced Pages Continue
4872-417: 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
4988-456: 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
5104-523: 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
5220-405: 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
5336-715: The City of Hanford (which is in Kings County ) and Tulare County each provided $ 100,000 in matching funds. Hanford and Kings County have strongly opposed the high-speed rail project, while Visalia and Tulare County have supported it. In August 2015, the Hanford City Council voted not to spend the funds, but Tulare County officials proceeded with the planning process. In April 2017, the Tulare County Association of Governments released an existing conditions report. In June 2018, it approved
5452-639: The Downtown Plaza shopping mall, the district opened in 2016 along with Golden 1 Center . Downtown Commons, otherwise known as DOCO, is home to the Sawyer, a 16-story skyscraper with a 250-room hotel and 45 condominiums, a Macy's anchor store, an IMAX theater, and retail space with a variety of restaurants and shops. Downtown Sacramento is home to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center and Theater , Sacramento City Hall,
5568-571: The Fabulous Forties, home to some of the most expensive, largest, and architecturally unique homes in the city. East Sacramento was home to Ronald Reagan during his term as Governor of California and this neighborhood was prominently featured in Greta Gerwig's film Lady Bird . The Opium Wars of the 1840s and 1850s, along with the California gold rush, brought many Chinese people to California. Most arrived at San Francisco, which
5684-569: 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
5800-578: 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
5916-517: The Sacramento River. A Spanish writer with the Moraga expedition wrote: Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne , and ( the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. "¡Es como el sagrado sacramento! (It's like
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#17327939469696032-548: 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
6148-576: 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
6264-490: 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,
6380-635: 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
6496-406: 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
6612-770: The Tower Bridge, Old Sacramento, and the California State Capitol Building. Capitol Mall is considered to be the business district of the city. Skyscrapers such as the Wells Fargo Center and U.S. Bank Tower , two of the tallest buildings in the city, are located on Capitol Mall and are home to several major companies. The street is also home to major festivals such as the annual Farm to Fork Festival. Sacramento's historic Japantown once occupied much of today's Capitol Mall, spanning 4th street from K to P streets. The area suffered from
6728-453: 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
6844-424: The area for perhaps thousands of years. Until the settlers arrived who would eventually make Sacramento their home, these tribes left little evidence of their existence. Their diet was dominated by acorns taken from the plentiful oak trees in the region and by fruits, bulbs, seeds, and roots gathered throughout the year. In 1808, the Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga encountered and named the Sacramento Valley and
6960-415: The area turned out to be a bane. By December 1848, John Sutter Jr., in association with Samuel Brannan , began laying out the City of Sacramento, 2 miles (3.2 km) south of his father's settlement of New Helvetia. This venture was undertaken against the wishes of Sutter Sr., but the father, being deeply in debt, was unable to stop it. For commercial reasons, the new city was named "Sacramento City" after
7076-707: The assembly center site is now part of the Foothill Farms-North Highlands subdivision. The Sacramento-Yolo Port District was created in 1947, and the ground was broken on the Port of Sacramento in 1949. On June 29, 1963, with 5,000 spectators waiting to welcome her, the Motor Vessel Taipei Victory arrived. The Nationalist Chinese flagship docked at the Port of Sacramento , being the first ocean-going vessel in Sacramento since
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#17327939469697192-448: The block bounded by 20th Street, 21st Street, S Street, and T Street. The Poverty Ridge Historic District was considered to be Sacramento's wealthiest neighborhood from 1868 to 1947. Sacramento has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csa ), characterized by hot, long, dry summers and cool winters with a decent amount of rainfall. Most of the annual precipitation generally occurs from November to April, though there may be
7308-491: The city. Between October and December 1850, Sacramento was hit with a cholera epidemic that killed 1,000 residents, including Mayor Bigelow and 17 of the city's 40 physicians. Up to 80 percent of the populace left town. On November 2, 1852, a fire known as the Great Conflagration burned more than 80 percent of the structures in the city. It is estimated that the total damage was around six million dollars. Within
7424-511: The construction of a new state capitol building which was finished in 1874. Sacramento is the fastest-growing major city in California, owing to its status as a notable political center on the West Coast and as a major educational hub, home of California State University, Sacramento and UC Davis . Similarly, Sacramento is a major center for the California healthcare industry , as the seat of Sutter Health , UC Davis Medical Center , and
7540-579: 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
7656-440: 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
7772-408: 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
7888-419: The eastern and western branches near Goshen . The specific subdivisions projected for re-use as the CVC are: The projected termini are in Porterville (east) and Huron (west); the route follows SR 198 and SR 65 . The easternmost 6 miles (9.7 km) of the route between Strathmore and Porterville were abandoned and the tracks pulled up, but the land was purchased by the City of Porterville to preserve
8004-445: The effects of climate change on vegetation in the future. Treepedia , a project run by MIT using Google Maps ' street-view data to calculate tree coverage in cities, ranked Sacramento the greenest city of 15 studied in the US, and third globally, after Vancouver and Singapore . A prominent water tower bore the slogan "City of Trees" until 2017 when it was repainted with the words "America's Farm-to-Fork Capital" (referring to
8120-459: 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
8236-408: The entire CVC rail service; within Tulare County, bus services would connect the CVC station in Visalia with local communities. The cost of the total project was estimated at US$ 350 to 489 million, split approximately 50% to Phase 3, 48% to Phase 2, and 2% to Phase 1. Initial studies of a passenger rail service were conducted in the mid-1990s. A Cross Valley Rail Corridor Joint Powers Authority
8352-522: 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
8468-491: 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
8584-482: The foothills 40 mi (64 km) east of the city, which had brief and traceable amounts of snowfall in January 2002, December 2009, and February 2011. The greatest snowfall ever recorded in Sacramento was 3 inches (7.6 cm) on January 5, 1888. On average, there are 76 days with a high of 90 °F (32 °C)+, and 14 days with a high of 100 °F (38 °C)+; On the other extreme, there are 8.5 days where
8700-408: The forced eviction of its Japanese residents during WW2 and never recovered, resulting in the remaining properties taken through eminent domain to create the grand promenade of today's Capitol Mall . The Nisei Memorial Hall at 4th and Q remains the last remaining property associated with Sacramento's former Japantown. One of the newest districts in the city is Downtown Commons . Formerly home to
8816-467: The fort), numerous gold-seekers came to the area, increasing the population. In August 1848, Sutter Sr.'s son, John Sutter Jr. , arrived to assist his father in reducing his debt . The Sutters struggled to contain the effects of thousands of new gold miners and prospectors in the area, many of whom squatted on unwatched portions of the vast Sutter lands or stole various unattended Sutter properties or belongings. For Sutter, his employee's discovery of gold in
8932-443: 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
9048-483: The help of the city, agreed to build a new arena in the downtown area. With a final estimated cost of $ 558.2 million, Sacramento's Golden 1 Center opened on September 30, 2016. According to the United States Census Bureau , the city covers 100.1 square miles (259 km ). 97.81% of it is land, and 2.19% of it is water. Depth to groundwater is typically about 30 feet (9 m). Much of
9164-507: The historic Sacramento Rail Yards . From 1862 until the mid-1870s, Sacramento raised the level of its downtown by building reinforced brick walls on its downtown streets and filling the resulting street walls with dirt. The previous first floors of buildings became basements , with open space between the street and the building, previously the sidewalk , now at the basement level. Over the years, many of these underground spaces have been filled or destroyed by subsequent development. However, it
9280-771: 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
9396-539: The land to the west of the city (in Yolo County ) is permanently reserved for a vast flood control basin (the Yolo Bypass ), due to the city's historical vulnerability to floods. As a result, the contiguous urban area sprawls only four miles (6.4 km) west of downtown (as West Sacramento, California ) but 30 miles (48 km) northeast and east, into the Sierra Nevada foothills, and 10 miles (16 km) to
9512-523: The late 1910s. It was the first US city to be designated a City of Trees by the Arbor Day Foundation in 1978. In the early 21st century, the tree cover is well above that of the average tree cover of other major cities in the United States and the rest of the world, with the main species being the London plane . Other species are being introduced to increase diversity and to help cope with
9628-952: The national Capitol, was started in 1860 and completed in 1874. In 1861, the legislative session was moved to the Merchants Exchange Building in San Francisco for one session because of the massive flooding in Sacramento. From 1862 to 1868, part of the Leland Stanford Mansion was used for the governor's offices during Stanford's tenure as the Governor; and the legislature met in the Sacramento County Courthouse. The legislative chambers were first occupied in 1869, while construction continued around them. With its new status and strategic location, Sacramento quickly prospered. It
9744-621: The nearby San Francisco Bay Area , as well as immigration from Asia and Latin America. In 1985, Hugh Scrutton, a 38-year-old Sacramento, California, computer store owner, was killed by a nail-and-splinter-loaded bomb placed in the parking lot of his store. In 1996, his death was attributed to the Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski . After acquiring the majority stake in the Sacramento Kings , the team's new owner, Vivek Ranadivé , with
9860-674: The new state's capital. From California's statehood beginning September 9, 1850 through 1851, the legislature met in San Jose. It moved to Vallejo in 1852 and Benicia in 1853, before ending up in Sacramento in 1854. During the 1850s the city was consolidated with the County of Sacramento. In the Sacramento Constitutional Convention of 1879 , Sacramento was named the permanent state capital. The Classical Revival -style California State Capitol , similar to
9976-497: 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
10092-537: The population of 4,739 was transferred to the Tule Lake concentration camp. The site was then turned over to the Army Signal Corps and dedicated as Camp Kohler . After the war and the end of the incarceration program, returning Japanese Americans were often unable to find housing and so 234 families temporarily lived at the former assembly center. Camp Kohler was destroyed by a fire in December 1947, and
10208-505: The right-of-way. In a projected Phase 1 to occur within ten years of opening CAHSR service, existing and new local bus services from cities along the projected CVC route would be coordinated to run to the planned Kings/Tulare high-speed rail station. Phase 2 would replace bus services within 20 years of opening CAHSR for the central portion of CVC, between Lemoore and Visalia, and open a rail maintenance facility in that segment. Phase 3, set to begin more than 20 years after CAHSR, would complete
10324-525: 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
10440-652: 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
10556-579: The settlement at the Rancho Nueva Helvetia . Following the American Conquest of California and the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo , the waterfront developed by Sutter began to be developed and incorporated in 1850 as the City of Sacramento. In 1852, the city offered its county courthouse to the state of California to house the state legislature, resulting in the city becoming the permanent state capital in 1854 and ushering in
10672-520: The south into valley farmland. The city is at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River and has a deep-water port connected to the San Francisco Bay by a channel through the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta . It is the shipping and rail center for the Sacramento Valley . Sacramento has long been known as the "City of Trees" owing to its abundant urban forest . The city has more trees per capita than any other city in
10788-610: 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
10904-524: 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
11020-400: 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
11136-537: 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
11252-539: The steamship Harpoon in 1934. In 1967, Ronald Reagan became the last Governor of California to live permanently in the city. The 1980s and 1990s saw the closure of several local military bases: McClellan Air Force Base , Mather Air Force Base , and Sacramento Army Depot. In 1980, there was another flood. Despite military base closures and the decline of agricultural food processing, Sacramento has continued to experience population growth in recent years. Primary sources of population growth are an influx of residents from
11368-526: The temperature remains below 50 °F (10 °C), and 15 freezing nights per year. Official temperature extremes range from 18 °F (−7.8 °C) on December 22, 1990, to 116 °F (46.7 °C) on September 6, 2022; a station around 5 mi (8.0 km) east-southeast of the city dipped to 17 °F (−8.3 °C) on December 11, 1932. The average annual precipitation is 18.14 inches (461 mm). On average, precipitation falls on 58 days each year in Sacramento, and nearly all of this falls during
11484-560: The title of Sacramento's electric distribution system to SMUD. Today SMUD is the sixth-largest public electric utility in the U.S. and is a leader in innovative programs and services, including the development of clean fuel resources, such as solar power . The year following the creation of SMUD, 1924, brought several events in Sacramento: Standard Oil executive Verne McGeorge established McGeorge School of Law , American department store Weinstock & Lubin opened
11600-421: The town of Sutterville , all founded by John Sutter Sr., eventually failed). Residents of Sacramento adopted a city charter in 1849, which was recognized by the state legislature in 1850. Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California, incorporated on February 27, 1850. On January 10, 1850, a flood occurred that devastated the city. The rushing waters uprooted homes and drowned livestock. The city
11716-560: 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
11832-511: 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
11948-422: 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
12064-597: 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
12180-646: The winter months. Average January rainfall is 3.66 in (93 mm), and measurable precipitation is rare during the summer months. In February 1992, Sacramento had 16 consecutive days of rain, resulting in an accumulation of 6.41 in (163 mm) for the period. On rare occasions, monsoonal moisture surges from the Desert Southwest can bring upper-level moisture to the Sacramento region, leading to increased summer cloudiness, humidity, and even light showers and thunderstorms. Monsoon clouds do occur, usually during late June through early September. Sacramento
12296-443: The world. The first recorded use of the term was in 1855, and it was popular by the early 20th century. It was not always so: it was at first called the "City of Plains" because of the lack of trees, but soon afterward there were cottonwood trees planted, and eucalyptus varieties were imported to dry out swampland . Later, locust trees , and willows were planted along streets, then elms , then palm trees , then fruit trees in
12412-403: 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
12528-473: Was almost destroyed. Due to the efforts of Hardin Bigelow , Sacramento's first elected mayor, the construction of the city's first levee was completed in early 1852 (the city became known as "The Levee City"). However, a month after it was completed, it was breached during the first major storm of the season and the city flooded again. A new levee was built for $ 50,000, but it also broke, causing more flooding of
12644-690: Was designated as the western terminus of the Pony Express . Later it became a terminus of the First transcontinental railroad , which began construction in Sacramento in 1863 and was financed by " The Big Four "— Mark Hopkins , Charles Crocker , Collis P. Huntington , and Leland Stanford . Both the American and especially Sacramento rivers were key elements in the economic success of the city. Sacramento effectively controlled commerce on these rivers, and public works projects were funded through taxes levied on goods unloaded from boats and loaded onto rail cars in
12760-668: Was established to house Japanese Americans forcibly "evacuated" from the West Coast under Executive Order 9066 . The camp was one of fifteen temporary detention facilities where over 110,000 Japanese Americans , two-thirds of them U.S. citizens, were held while construction on the more permanent War Relocation Authority camps was completed. The assembly center was built on the site of a former migrant labor camp, and inmates began arriving from Sacramento and San Joaquin Counties on May 6, 1942. It closed after only 52 days, on June 26, and
12876-492: Was founded, which raised $ 14.2 million from government and private sources to resurface the rail corridor in 2002–2003 to accommodate heavier freight traffic, and keep the line in operation in preparation for a passenger rail service. A 2004 study revisited passenger rail plans. California High-Speed Rail offered $ 600,000 in funding for a station planning grant including the Cross Valley Corridor, providing that
12992-415: Was inaugurated in early January 1862, traveled to his inauguration in a rowboat. The California State Legislature , with the support of Governor John Bigler , moved to Sacramento in 1854. The capital of California under Spanish (and, subsequently, Mexican) rule had been Monterey , where, in 1849, the first Constitutional Convention and state elections were held. The convention decided San Jose would be
13108-525: Was not repealed until 1943. The mysterious fires were thought to be set off by those who resented the Chinese working class. Ordinances on what was viable building material were set into place to try to get the Chinese to move out. Newspapers such as The Sacramento Union wrote stories at the time that portrayed the Chinese in an unfavorable light to inspire ethnic discrimination and drive the Chinese away. While most of Sacramento's Chinatown has now been razed,
13224-543: Was on "I" Street from Second to Sixth Streets, called the China Slough . At the time, this area of "I" Street was considered a health hazard because, lying within a levee zone, it was lower than other parts of the city, which were situated on higher land. Throughout Sacramento's Chinatown history, there were fires, acts of discrimination, and prejudicial legislation such as the Chinese Exclusion Act that
13340-456: 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
13456-535: Was then the largest city in California and known as "Daai Fau" ( Chinese : 大埠 ; Jyutping : daai fau ; Cantonese Yale : Daaihfauh ). Some eventually came to Sacramento, then the second-largest city in California and consequently called "Yee Fow" (Chinese: 二埠 ; Jyutping: ji fau ). Today the city is known as " 萨克拉门托 " ( pinyin : Sàkèlāméntuō ) by mainland Chinese and as " 沙加緬度 " Sāgāmíhndouh and Shājiāmiǎnduó by Cantonese speakers and Taiwanese respectively. Sacramento's Chinatown
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