136-752: Shasta Dam (called Kennett Dam before its construction) is a concrete arch-gravity dam across the Sacramento River in Northern California in the United States . At 602 feet (183 m) high, it is the eighth-tallest dam in the United States . Located at the north end of the Sacramento Valley , Shasta Dam creates Shasta Lake for long-term water storage, flood control, hydroelectricity and protection against
272-634: A 428-foot (130 m) elevator ride to the base of the dam, and visits to the dam's inner galleries and the powerhouse among other areas. Shasta Lake has a surface of 30,310 acres (12,270 ha) at full pool and is surrounded by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest . Many public and private marinas, campgrounds, RV parks, resorts and boat launches border the reservoir, one of the most popular recreational lakes in California. Houseboating, water-skiing, swimming and fishing are among
408-681: A bid to solve the salinity problem, local residents proposed constructing a tidal barrage across the mouth of Suisun Bay, a project which was never realized. In 1919 a different solution came in the form of the Marshall Plan, created by Robert Marshall of the United States Geological Survey . It proposed a large dam across the Sacramento River just downstream of its confluence with the Pit River near
544-638: A burial place for victims of the Kabyai Creek Massacre . The tribe conducted a war dance in September 2004 for the first time in 117 years in opposition of the dam and Reclamation's raising project; the event reputedly inspired many environmental groups to support the tribe's position. Reclamation holds guided tours of the Shasta Dam year round, each taking two to three hours. There also are a visitor center and auditorium. The tours comprise
680-407: A capacity of 379 MW, was also under construction. Five steel penstocks, each 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter, were installed to provide water to drive the turbines in the power station. The powerhouse was a reinforced concrete structure standing 153 feet (47 m) above the river; electricity was first generated there in 1944. The dam was completed at the dawn of 1945. When Shasta was completed, it
816-518: A conglomerate of twelve smaller companies. Construction started with the excavation of millions of tons of bedrock from the canyon walls adjacent to the construction site, forming keyways for the dam foundations. The Shasta Route of the Southern Pacific Railroad and U.S. Highway 99 (current Interstate 5 ) were rerouted to the east over the steel truss Pit River Bridge , which remains the tallest combined road and rail bridge in
952-424: A draft geologic technical report prepared pursuant to the planning for modifications of Shasta Dam, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation cites (p. 27) six types of geologic hazards that have the potential to occur within the project area: seismic hazards, volcanic eruptions and associated hazards, mudflows, snow avalanches, slope instability, and seiches . Seismic hazards stem from the proximity of several fault zones,
1088-710: A drop in the area's water table, resulted in the town's demise. The Depression -era migrants to the San Joaquin Valley from the South and Midwest are one of the more well-known groups in the Central Valley, in large part due to the popularity of John Steinbeck 's novel The Grapes of Wrath and the Henry Fonda movie made from it. By 1910, agriculture in the southern Great Plains had become nearly unviable due to soil erosion and poor rainfall. Much of
1224-653: A fresh water lake. Lake Corcoran was the last widespread lake to fill the valley about 700,000 years ago. At the beginning of the Holocene there were three major lakes remaining in the southern part of the Valley, Tulare Lake, Buena Vista Lake and Kern Lake . In the late 19th and in the 20th century, agricultural diversion of the Kern River eventually dried out these lakes. Today, only a fragment of Buena Vista Lake remains as two small lakes Lake Webb and Lake Evans in
1360-408: A gigantic facility called a TCD (Temperature Control Device) on the rear face of Shasta Dam. This structure enables dam operators to decide the depth of the reservoir from which the water feeding into the penstocks originates. As one progresses deeper into Shasta Lake, the water gets colder where it receives less sunlight. The TCD is equipped with fifteen openings called "shutters" arranged in rows along
1496-471: A given crop: Stockton produces the majority of the domestic asparagus consumed in the United States, and Fresno County is the largest producer of raisins. Cattle and sheep ranching are also vitally important to the valley's economy. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, the Miller & Lux corporation built an agricultural monopoly centered around cattle. The corporation can be characterized as
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#17327721602391632-625: A hard-driving sound that is still deeply associated with the city. The San Joaquin Valley produces 12.8% of California's agricultural production (as measured by dollar value). Often called a breadbasket region, the valley farms emphasize fruits, vegetables and nuts more than grain for bread. Major crops include grapes (wine grapes, table grapes and raisins ), cotton , almonds , pistachios , citrus , and vegetables. Walnuts, oranges, peaches, garlic, tangerines, tomatoes, kiwis, hay, alfalfa and numerous other crops have been harvested with great success. Certain places are identified quite strongly with
1768-494: A loss of as much as $ 11 billion each year. San Joaquin Valley is a major agricultural center of California. The agricultural demand for water far outstrips the urban and industrial demand. Overuse of nitrogen fertilizers and irrigated agriculture is common, and according to Thomas Harter, the chair for Water Resources Management and Policy at UC Davis, “more than 80 pounds of nitrogen per acre per year may leach into groundwater beneath irrigated lands, usually as nitrates”. Between
1904-625: A majority of Kern County in Southern California. Although the valley is predominantly rural, it has three densely populated urban centers: Stockton / Modesto , Fresno / Visalia , and Bakersfield . The San Joaquin Valley is the southern half of California's Central Valley . It extends from the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta in the north to the Tehachapi Mountains in the south, and from
2040-409: A portion of the former Buena Vista Lakebed. The San Joaquin Valley has extremely hot, dry summers and pleasantly mild winters characterized by dense tule fog . Its rainy season normally runs from November through April. The valley has experienced a severe and intensifying megadrought since the early 2010s. This drought is not only affecting humans, with farmland taking much of the impact, but also
2176-611: A precursor to corporate farming transforming the yeoman farmer into wage workers. The success of the business can be attributed to founder Henry Miller 's direct management style which is reflected in his detailed correspondences to his subordinates. During recent years, dairy farming has greatly expanded in importance. As areas such as Chino and Corona have become absorbed into the suburban sprawl of Los Angeles, many dairy farmers have cashed out and moved their herds to Kings, Tulare, and Kern counties. Between 1990 and 2004, 28,092 hectares (70,231 acres) of agricultural land
2312-616: A source of drinking water for 90% of San Joaquin Valley's residents. Nitrates have found their way into the aquifers around the San Joaquin Valley, affecting over 250,000 people in communities that are poor and rural. In 2006, the State Water Resources Board took samples from domestic wells in Tulare County; they found that 40% of 181 domestic wells had nitrate levels above the 10 mg/L legal limit. Though locals have typically used filters for their water,
2448-766: A spotty record with environmental responsibility and has been criticized by environmentalists for high levels of pesticide and selenium in the toxic runoff waters from farms operating under the district. In November 2020, the Trump Administration released the Shasta Lake Water Resources Investigation Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement to increase water storage capacity in Shasta Lake by 634,000 acre-feet, or more than 200 billion gallons. In
2584-635: A strong history in Stockton. Filipino organizations in Stockton are reflected in various commercial buildings identified as Filipino. Filipinos fought for the U.S. against Japan in WWII, in exchange for favorable immigration status. Stockton has been an adjunct to the San Francisco Bay Area, which was a major military production and transit area during WWII. Filipino emigration to Stockton followed. Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park marks
2720-408: A three-year drought was prompting changes to the agriculture industry in the valley. Farmers began using complex irrigation systems and using treated waste water to feed crops, while many were switching from farming cotton to other commodities, chief among them, almonds. California has long been one of the nation's most important oil-producing states, and the San Joaquin Valley has long since eclipsed
2856-526: A time of economic crisis with the onset of the Great Depression and a severe drought that devastated the agricultural sector, pushing the unemployment rate in California up to 20 percent. The project was approved in the state legislature by a slim margin, mostly riding on Central and Northern California voters, who needed both the jobs and the water. Southern California generally opposed the project because they needed money to build an aqueduct to
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#17327721602392992-479: A tiny fraction of that land remained theirs. Furthermore, the Winnemem are not recognized by the federal government, an omission that they have been seeking to rectify for over a century. Recently, native hostility to the dam has heightened because of the proposals to raise it – which would drown twenty of the remaining sacred sites, including Children's Rock and Puberty Rock, both used in coming-of-age ceremonies, and
3128-490: Is 72.7%. According to the United States Census Bureau 's American Community Survey , six San Joaquin Valley counties had the highest percentage of residents living below the federal poverty line in 2006 of any counties in California. The report also showed that the same six counties were among the 52 counties with the highest poverty rate in the United States . The median income for a household in
3264-700: Is a federally recognized tribe of Kitanemuk , Yokuts , and Chumash indigenous people of California . Their ancestral homeland is the southern San Joaquin Valley, San Emigdio Mountains , and Tehachapi Mountains . Today they live in Kern County, California , headquartered in Wasco and Bakersfield, California . The Picayune Rancheria of Chukchansi Indians of California is a federally recognized tribe of indigenous people of California , Chukchansi or Foothills Yokuts , now located in Madera County in
3400-420: Is a massive concrete chute, 487 feet (148 m) long and 375 feet (114 m) wide, controlled by three 110-foot (34 m)-wide drum gates each weighing 500 US tons (454 t). When the reservoir is full, the gates cannot entirely prevent leakage but can raise the water level up to 28 feet (8.5 m) above the spillway crest. The spillway has a capacity of 186,000 cubic feet per second (5,300 m/s), bringing
3536-470: Is an example of the RCC arch-gravity dam. A gravity dam requires a large volume of internal fill. An arch-gravity dam can be thinner than the pure gravity dam and requires less internal fill. Arch-gravity dams are dams that resist the thrust of water by their weight using the force of gravity and the arch action . An arch-gravity dam incorporates the arch 's curved design which is effective in supporting
3672-536: Is important to maternal and child health and is another comparative indicator of community health. According to the California Department of Health Services, 37% of births in Merced County occurred with no or late prenatal care and the San Joaquin Valley average was 19.5% of births with no or late prenatal care. By comparison, the California average was 13.6% of births and the national average
3808-474: Is known to have declared, "Look at that Shasta Dam. That dam will stand there forever holding back the river. And that powerhouse will keep right on turning out juice until somebody discovers how to make power out of sunlight." Shasta Dam serves mainly to provide flood control and carryover water storage for the dry season, contributing greatly to irrigation in the Sacramento Valley and navigation on
3944-690: Is not state-maintained. The part east of unbuilt State Route 65 near Minkler is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System; the road east of Dunlap is the Kings Canyon Scenic Byway, a Forest Service Byway. Other important highways in the valley include State Route 46 (SR 46) and State Route 41 (SR 41), which respectively link the California Central Coast with Bakersfield and Fresno; State Route 33 (SR 33), which runs south to north along
4080-469: Is the southern half of California 's Central Valley . Famed as a major breadbasket , the San Joaquin Valley is an important source of food, producing a significant part of California's agricultural output. San Joaquin Valley draws from eight counties of Northern and one of Southern California , including all of San Joaquin and Kings counties, most of Stanislaus , Merced , and Fresno counties, and parts of Madera and Tulare counties, along with
4216-721: The Colorado River , from which the state had previously secured rights. In 1933, the state authorized the sale of bonds to fund the Central Valley Project, whose main component was to be Shasta Dam. Unable to raise the necessary money, California turned to the federal government for help. In 1935, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt authorized the Central Valley Project as part of the New Deal . The construction works at Shasta Dam and other parts of
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4352-562: The Environmental Protection Agency , meaning residents are exposed to air quality that is confirmed to be hazardous to human health. The region of the San Joaquin Valley has some of the richest soil that allows for the production of many crops. Crops in this region include: grapes, oranges, cotton, vegetables and nuts. The plethora of crop land allows for the valley to benefit from the income of crop sales. About sixty percent of California's crops come from
4488-549: The Grand Coulee Dam in northern Washington because of the enormous demand for electricity from that dam to power aluminum smelters in the Northwest. The strained supplies and labor forced Reclamation to cut the final height of the dam from 800 feet (240 m) to 602 feet (183 m). With the tunnel cleared, it was resurfaced and modified to accommodate the force of a river instead of a railroad. Until this time,
4624-428: The Great Depression and Shasta was transferred to the federal Bureau of Reclamation as a public works project. Construction started in earnest in 1937 under the supervision of Chief Engineer Frank Crowe . During its building, the dam provided thousands of much-needed jobs; it was finished twenty-six months ahead of schedule in 1945. When completed, the dam was the second-tallest in the United States after Hoover , and
4760-499: The Hoover Dam (Boulder Canyon) Project several years earlier. Reclamation chose Frank Crowe , the superintendent of Hoover Dam construction, to direct operations at Shasta Dam. The groundbreaking and official naming ceremony of Shasta Dam occurred on September 12, 1937 in the small town of Kennett shortly upstream of the dam. Congress initially approved $ 12 million for the project. Within five years Kennett would be submerged under
4896-547: The Los Angeles Basin as the state's primary oil production region. Scattered oil wells on small oil fields are found throughout the region, and several enormous extraction facilities – most notably near Lost Hills and Taft , including the enormous Midway-Sunset Oil Field , the third-largest oil field in the United States – are veritable forests of pumps. Shell operated a major refinery in Bakersfield; it
5032-867: The Pacific Ocean . The somewhat larger southern portion is the Tulare Basin, an endorheic basin centered on Tulare Lake . Historically, Tulare Lake was fed by the Tule River , the Kings River, the Kaweah River , the White River and the Kern River , but much of this water has been diverted for agricultural uses and the watershed is mostly dry in its lower reaches. The San Joaquin Valley began to form about 66 million years ago during
5168-672: The Union Pacific Railroad does not currently allow the San Joaquins trains to run on the highly congested rail route over Tehachapi Pass , which is the only route between Bakersfield and Los Angeles . Passengers between these towns must travel on Amtrak Thruway buses. The San Joaquin Valley is also the location of the planned initial operating segment of the California High-Speed Rail (CAHSR) project, which will run 171 miles from Bakersfield in
5304-505: The War in Vietnam . These immigrants, the majority of whom are Hmong , Laotian , Cambodian , and Vietnamese , have largely settled in the communities of Stockton, Modesto, Merced , and Fresno . Hmongs, Laotians, and Cambodians are the largest communities of Southeast Asians in the San Joaquin Valley, and the valley has some of the largest populations of these groups in the nation. Fresno has
5440-424: The ammonium nitrate that “accounts for more than half of the region’s PM2.5 on the area’s most polluted days.” Exacerbated by stagnant weather and the temperature drop of the cooler seasons, much of the air pollution becomes trapped beneath a layer of warmer air, resulting in a phenomenon known as temperature inversion and condensing the accumulation of pollutants within the valley. Population growth has caused
5576-410: The canyon rock walls, providing the force to compress the dam. It combines the strengths of two common dam forms and is considered a compromise between the two. They are made of conventional concrete , roller-compacted concrete (RCC), or masonry . Arch-gravity dams are not reinforced except at the spillway . A typical example of the conventional concrete dam is the Hoover Dam . Changuinola Dam
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5712-484: The eastern United States . The valley's land was coveted for farming due to its fertile soils, mild climate, gentle topography, and abundant water. The Sacramento River flows south through the northern third of the valley, known as the Sacramento Valley , for 400 miles (640 km) before emptying into a vast estuary , the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta , and ultimately the Pacific Ocean . By
5848-472: The " Okies " of primarily English and Scots-Irish descent who migrated to California from the Midwest and South . Mennonite groups descended from Russian Germans settled in the areas of Reedley and Dinuba , as well as Lutheran and Catholic Volga Germans who settled in the broader Fresno area. The San Joaquin Valley has a large and exceptionally diverse Asian American population; primarily from
5984-448: The 1950s and 1980s, when nitrogen fertilizer use grew sixfold, nitrate concentrations in groundwater increased 2.5 times. Fertilizer runoffs contributes roughly 90% of all nitrate inputs to the alluvial groundwater system. Within agriculture, the two major factors are High-Intensity Crop Production and Large Dairy Herds. Because these communities are cut off from larger water distribution, they are dependent on wells, making groundwater
6120-503: The 1970s onward, landlords and large corporations have also hired undocumented immigrants . This has allowed them to increase their profits due to low overhead on wages. The San Joaquin Valley has—by California standards—an unusually large number of European, Middle Eastern, and Asian ethnicities in the heritage of its citizens. These communities are often quite large and, relative to Americans immigration patterns, quite eclectic: for example, there are more Azorean Portuguese in
6256-675: The 1990s and 2000s. The other, Castle Air Force Base , located near Atwater was closed during the Base Realignment and Closure of the 1990s. Although both are in Kern County, Edwards Air Force Base and China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station are located in the High Desert area of that county. The California real estate boom that began in the late 1990s has significantly changed the San Joaquin Valley. Once distinctly and fiercely independent of Los Angeles and San Francisco,
6392-651: The 395, many fought in the U.S. armed forces during World War II. When they returned in 1945, they found their family members driven out of their traditional villages by the rising waters of Shasta Lake. More than 90 percent of their original land was lost, and the ten percent that remains now lies along the lower McCloud River. On May 1 of 1941, the United States Congress passed the Central Valley Project Indian Lands Acquisition Act, to take ownership of
6528-561: The Bay Area's orbit as well. Bakersfield, traditionally a boom-bust oil town once described by urban scholar Joel Kotkin as an "American Abu Dhabi ," has seen a massive influx of former Los Angeles business owners and commuters, to the extent that gated communities containing million-dollar homes are going up on the city's outskirts. Wal-Mart , IKEA , Target , Amazon , CVS Pharmacy , Restoration Hardware , and other various large shipping firms have built huge distribution centers both in
6664-779: The California coastal ranges ( Diablo and Temblor ) in the west to the Sierra Nevada in the east. The valley contains two large river systems, divided north and south. The northern portion of San Joaquin Valley is called the San Joaquin Basin: the watershed of the San Joaquin River and its tributaries including parts of the Kings River , all of which drain northwest into the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and eventually out to
6800-529: The Central Valley and some of California's largest agricultural coalitions including the Westlands Water District calling for a more dependable water supply, the Bureau of Reclamation suggested the expansion of Shasta Dam. The expansion is considered feasible because the dam's foundations were originally built to carry the weight of an 800-foot (240 m) structure, but resources shortages at
6936-603: The Kings County average of 1.1 beds per a thousand and the San Joaquin Valley average of 1.8 beds per a thousand were again less than the state average of 2.1 bed per a thousand. Consequently, the age adjusted death rate is significantly higher than the rest of California. In response the University of California with the University of California, Merced is exploring opening a research medical school specializing in rural care, in hopes that some graduates will settle in
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#17327721602397072-549: The Pit River, which is actually the largest river flowing into the lake. Shasta Lake also has arms of the McCloud River , Squaw Creek, Salt Creek, and scores of other smaller streams that feed it. Shasta Dam controls runoff from a drainage basin of 6,665 square miles (17,260 km), or about a quarter of the 27,580-square-mile (71,400 km) Sacramento River watershed. In the 1990s, with skyrocketing water shortages in
7208-473: The Sacramento River had still been flowing through the middle of the dam site, between the two nearly completed abutments of the dam. An earth/rock filled cofferdam was constructed across the river, which now began to flow through the tunnel, drying out the dam site and enabling work to begin on the middle section of the dam, which contained the spillway bays. The spillways with their 18 high-pressure river outlet valves and massive triple drum gates were completed in
7344-570: The Sacramento River, as well as keeping freshwater levels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta high enough for diversion into the California Aqueduct and Delta-Mendota Canal . The dam's other major purpose is to generate hydroelectricity. With a hydraulic head of 330 feet (100 m), the dam is capable of generating 676 megawatts (MW) from five turbines – a pair of 125 MW units and three 142 MW units. Each of
7480-454: The San Joaquin Valley and provide better healthcare. Currently, the Latino and Mexican descendants are large percentage of the demographics in the San Joaquin Valley. Since not long after the onset of the bracero program during World War II , all but a minor percentage of the farmworkers in the region have been of Mexican ancestry. Ethnic and economic friction between Mexican-Americans and
7616-528: The San Joaquin Valley at the time of the 2011-2015 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates by United States Census Bureau reported a population of 4,080,509. The racial composition of San Joaquin Valley was 1,428,978 (35.0%) Non-Hispanic White, 2,048,280 (50.2%) Hispanic or Latino, 310,557 (7.6%) Asian, 193,694 (4.7%) Black or African American, 40,911 (1.0%) American Indian and Alaska Native, and 13,000 (0.32%) Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander. The educational attainment of high school graduate or higher
7752-542: The San Joaquin Valley during World War II, most of them going to Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego to work in war-related industries. Many of those who stayed ended up in Bakersfield and Oildale , as the southern San Joaquin Valley became an important area of oil production after major Southern California oil fields such as Signal Hill began to dry up. Country music legends Buck Owens and Merle Haggard came out of Bakersfield's honky-tonk scene and created
7888-865: The San Joaquin Valley has long suffered from some of the United States' worst air pollution . With a PM2.5 measure of 17 micrograms per cubic meter of air, the San Joaquin Valley’s air pollution readings exceed both California's Ambient Air Quality Standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter, and the National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 9 micrograms per cubic meter. Some of the San Joaquin Valley’s sources of air pollution stem from vehicle emissions, agricultural practices, and crop and wildfires. The use of diesel and gasoline fueled vehicles produces an excess of nitrogen oxides ( NOx ), eventually forming nitric acid that reacts with ammonia gas from cow manure and urine to create
8024-504: The San Joaquin Valley is located in Hanford and includes a Doppler weather radar . Weather forecasts and climatological information for the San Joaquin Valley are available from its official website. The San Joaquin Valley was originally inhabited by the Yokuts and Miwok peoples . The first European to enter the valley was Pedro Fages in 1772. The Tejon Indian Tribe of California
8160-655: The San Joaquin Valley than in the Azores. Many groups are found in majorities in specific cities, and hardly anywhere else in the region. For example, Assyrians are concentrated in Turlock , Dutch in Ripon , and Croats in Delano . Kingsburg is famous for its distinctly Swedish air, having been founded by immigrants from that country. Ethnic groups found in a broader area are Portuguese , Germans , Armenians , Basques , and
8296-420: The San Joaquin Valley to rank with Los Angeles and Houston in most measures of air pollution. Only the Inland Empire region east of Los Angeles has worse overall air quality, and the San Joaquin Valley led the nation in 2004 in the number of days with quantities of ozone considered unhealthy by the Environmental Protection Agency . The San Joaquin Valley has been deemed an "extreme non-attainment zone" by
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#17327721602398432-472: The San Joaquin Valley, only the Wilmington Oil Field in Los Angeles County has untapped reserves greater than 100,000,000 barrels (16,000,000 m ), while six fields in the San Joaquin Valley (Midway-Sunset, Kern River , South Belridge , Elk Hills , Cymric , and Lost Hills ) each have reserves exceeding 100,000,000 barrels (16,000,000 m ) of oil. The isolation and vastness of the San Joaquin Valley, as well as its poverty and need for jobs, have led
8568-447: The San Joaquin Valley. Aside from the collapse of median home values, persistent crime, unemployment and poverty were common factors between Bakersfield , Fresno , Merced , Modesto and Stockton – every major city of the San Joaquin Valley. Insufficient access to medicine in the United States, in particular prenatal and preventive care, is typified by both rural and inner city communities. Early and adequate access to prenatal care
8704-415: The San Joaquin Valley. The Santa Rosa Rancheria belongs to the federally recognized Tachi Yokuts tribe and is located 4.5 miles (7.24 km) southeast of Lemoore, California , in the San Joaquin Valley. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California have further strained both the San Joaquin Valley's and the Sacramento Valley's water security . The total population of the eight counties comprising
8840-437: The United States and international service to Mexico. Additionally, there are three nonprimary airports in the region: Meadows Field Airport near Bakersfield , Stockton Metropolitan Airport and Merced Municipal Airport . The San Joaquins service handles passenger traffic between Bakersfield and Stockton with extensions to either Sacramento or Oakland . Amtrak rail service does not continue south of Bakersfield, as
8976-412: The area has seen increasing exurban development as the cost of living forces young families and small businesses further and further away from the coastal urban cores. Stockton, Modesto, Tracy (as well as the nearby city of Mountain House ), Manteca, and Los Banos are increasingly dominated by commuters to San Francisco and Silicon Valley, and the small farming towns to the south are finding themselves in
9112-440: The back face of the structure. The rows lie 1,022 feet (312 m), 922 feet (281 m), and 817 feet (249 m) above sea level. (The crest of Shasta Dam is at an elevation of 1,077 feet (328 m).) The system has shown significant success in reducing the temperature of the Sacramento River below the dam, although it does exhibit leakage. As for the health of the river overall, the dam has indirectly affected it by promoting
9248-485: The capacity to store it. As a result, the reservoir will rarely be filled, as no matter how much Reclamation expands the dam, the river's flow will not increase. The cost of the dam raise is projected at $ 500 million-$ 1 billion. One of the expansion's most staunch opponents is the Winnemem Wintu tribe, almost all of whose land was inundated by the construction of Shasta Dam. Raising the dam would destroy much of their little remaining land. Some progress has been made towards
9384-401: The concrete cured and rebuilt to handle the next block above it. The concrete was "vibrated" into place using specialized equipment, which filled in any accidental cavities and bubbles to ensure maximum density and strength. After the concrete cured, the surface was cleaned and smoothed by sandblasting. At the same time, the railroad that ran through the temporary 1,800-foot (550 m) tunnel on
9520-498: The copper mining town of Kennett, several hundred miles to the north of the Delta. The dam would store water for release during the dry months when the Delta was most vulnerable to saltwater intrusion, with the added benefit of controlling floods in the winter. Water captured by the dam would increase the irrigation supply, for both the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley further south, with which it would be linked by an extensive aqueduct and reservoir system. The Marshall Plan
9656-415: The crest and replacing the elevator towers on the front of the dam, and the Pit River Bridge and small towns around the lake, if not modified or moved, would be inundated. Finally, the "high option" would raise the dam over 200 feet (61 m), tripling the volume and doubling the surface area of the reservoir. Both the intermediate and high options would require saddle dams constructed at key points along
9792-546: The dam at Kennett and aqueducts from the Delta southwards into the arid San Joaquin Valley and the Los Angeles Basin , Hyatt's scheme laid the foundations for both the present day Central Valley Project (CVP) and the California State Water Project (SWP). Initially, the state of California intended to finance the project entirely on its own through the sale of revenue bonds . However, the 1930s were
9928-526: The dam expansion including for the completion of a costly EIR (Environment Impact Report) by the Bureau of Reclamation – and the purchase of over 3,000 acres (1,200 ha) of land along the McCloud River by Westlands Irrigation District to help the Bureau gain rights to expand the dam; Westlands believes that the added storage of the dam would greatly benefit its farmers. As of 2007, the irrigation district has spent $ 35 million. However, Westlands has had
10064-404: The dam in order to allow for increased water storage and power generation. This would produce more low carbon electricity, but is opposed by tribes and fish advocates because of negative impacts from water diversions from river flows and impacts on endangered species. In the late 19th century, the Central Valley was the main destination for large numbers of immigrants traveling into California from
10200-465: The dam stands 602 feet (183 m) above the foundations with a maximum height of 522.5 feet (159.3 m) above the river. It is 3,460 feet (1,050 m) long, with a maximum thickness of 543 feet (166 m); altogether the dam contains 6,270,000 cubic yards (4,790,000 m) of material. The dam can release floodwaters through a system of eighteen outlet valves on the face of the spillway. These valves are arranged in three levels, each cutting through
10336-578: The dam's main concrete structure started in July 1940 after the cable systems had been completed and the mixing plant came on line. Steel buckets capable of carrying 8 cubic yards (6.1 m) of concrete, weighing 16 tons when full, traveled back and forth along the lines. For three years, thousands of men labored building the dam's massive abutments, pouring concrete into large modular "blocks" 50 feet (15 m) square and 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. These blocks were shaped using wooden forms, which were removed when
10472-464: The dam's maximum overflow rate to 267,800 cubic feet per second (7,580 m/s). The dam forms a reservoir called Shasta Lake , which is the largest man-made lake and third largest body of water in California with its capacity of 4,552,000 acre-feet (5,615 GL ) and surface area of 29,740 acres (12,040 ha) at maximum pool. The lake extends for 15.3 miles (24.6 km) up the Sacramento River and branches for more than 21 miles (34 km) up
10608-471: The dam. Reclamation originally planned to set up the construction headquarters in Redding, but ultimately decided to move it closer to the dam site. The new company town , Toyon, was laid out on a farm purchased from Porter Seaman in 1938. Toyon served purely to provide housing for Reclamation personnel, government offices, and storage; no stores or restaurants were permitted within its boundaries. Instead of
10744-409: The early Paleocene era. Broad fluctuations in the sea level caused various areas of the valley to be flooded with ocean water for the next 60 million years. About 5 million years ago, the marine outlets began to close due to uplift of the coastal ranges and the deposition of sediment in the valley. Starting 2 million years ago, a series of glacial episodes periodically caused much of the valley to become
10880-510: The filters need to be installed correctly and replaced frequently, which may not be economically feasible for the residents in Orosi. Table 2 on page 20 from Pacific Institute 's "The Human Costs of Nitrate-contaminated Drinking Water in the San Joaquin Valley" indicates the water systems that were contaminated with nitrates over the legal limit, the percentage of the population affected that are non-white and that are below or near poverty-level, and
11016-532: The first major infestation of the boll weevil .) When the onset of the Great Depression created a national banking crisis, family farmers—usually heavily in debt—often had their mortgages foreclosed by banks desperate to shore up their balance sheets. In response, many farmers loaded their families and portable possessions into their automobiles and drove west. Many of the Okies and Arkies left
11152-510: The flow occurs during winter storms and spring snowmelt, with natural runoff reducing to a trickle during late summers and autumns of drought years. As farming increased, low river flows dropped even lower, leading to saltwater intrusion from San Francisco Bay into the Delta. This caused water shortages for Delta farms, and led to a teredo (saltwater worm) infestation between 1919 and 1924 that destroyed piers and ships in Suisun Bay . In
11288-672: The greater peaking releases from Shasta. The proposed dam raise has met with significant backlash from area inhabitants, fishermen, Native Americans, recreationalists and environmentalists. First of all, with any increase to the dam's height, significant reaches of the Pit, Sacramento, and McCloud Rivers would be inundated. The McCloud is an area of special interest because it is one of California's best trout fisheries and because many sacred Native American sites lie along its banks. Opponents of dam raise contend that it would cost more (starting with replacing over 600 structures that would be inundated under
11424-400: The growth of cities and farms along it. However, construction of the dam also has had direct consequences to the morphology and vegetation zones along the river. By raising summer flows much higher than their natural average, and moderating the effects of most floods, the post-dam river supplies an even amount of water to the riparian zone each year, and resultantly vegetation has encroached on
11560-489: The homes and lands of the Winnemem Wintu people. Scores of village sites, burial sites and other sacred locations now sit several hundred feet below the surface of Shasta Lake. Over 27 sacred sites lie underneath the water behind the dam. Tribal members argue that several reservation treaties originally set by the U.S. government in the 1850s were later broken so the filling of Shasta Lake could proceed; afterwards, only
11696-465: The intrusion of saline water . The largest reservoir in the state, Shasta Lake can hold about 4,500,000 acre-feet (5,600 GL). Envisioned as early as 1919 as an effort to conserve, control, store, and distribute water to the Central Valley , California's main agricultural region, Shasta was first authorized in the 1930s as a state undertaking. However, bonds did not sell due to the onset of
11832-580: The lake including the Pit River Bridge) than its benefits. The water supplied from such a raise would be costly and could be saved if Central Valley farmers cut their water use by only a fraction. It would result in more problems for the ecology of the lower Sacramento, not least its dying salmon runs . One of the most important points made by dam expansion opponents is that raising the dam will not create more water (in fact it will actually cause some water loss due to evaporation) but merely increases
11968-512: The lake to keep it from overflowing. The intermediate and high dam raises would allow for increased generation of hydropower. Each would require the construction of a new powerhouse to accommodate five new turbines; for the intermediate expansion, five 215-MW generators would be added for a total capacity of 1,751 MW, while for the high one, there would be five new 260-MW units for a maximum capacity of 1,976 MW. Downstream Keswick Dam would also be raised and its power station retrofitted to accommodate
12104-515: The land in this area. However, the unhealthy air levels that arise from smog lead to the destruction of many crops. According to the California Air Resources Board the San Joaquin Valley loses about one billion dollars every year due to the pollution in the air destroying these crops. Furthermore, as crops and vegetation die off from the air and water quality, farmers sometimes turn to burning to dispose of them. Due to
12240-540: The largest conveyor belt system in the world, 9.5 miles (15.3 km) long, that reached from Redding to the dam site. This was capable of transporting 1,100 tons of material per hour, and over the entire construction process, hauled more than 12 million tons of rock. The belt, which had some 16,000 rollers, was divided into 26 sections, 23 of which were powered by individual 200 horsepower (150 kW) motors. The remaining three were downhill and did not require power; in fact they were retrofitted to generate power for some of
12376-562: The largest U.S. city without an Interstate highway), while SR 99 runs through them. Both highways then merge at the southern end of valley en route to Los Angeles. When the Interstate Highway System was created in the 1950s, the decision was made to build I-5 as an entirely then-new freeway bypass instead of upgrading the then-existing U.S. 99 . Since then, state and federal representatives have pushed to convert SR 99 to an Interstate, although this cannot occur until all of
12512-465: The late 1800s, both the valley and Delta regions were intensely cultivated with various crops including wheat, cotton, rice, citrus, and melons. The low-lying topography of the Sacramento Valley makes it vulnerable to flooding in the winter; conversely, irrigation is necessary during the summer due to the highly seasonal precipitation. Although the Sacramento River discharges nearly 22.4 million acre-feet (27,600 GL ) of water each year, most of
12648-419: The location of the only California town to be founded, financed and governed by African Americans. The small farming community was founded in 1908 by Lt. Colonel Allen Allensworth , Professor William Payne, William Peck, a minister, John W. Palmer, a miner, and Harry A. Mitchell, a real estate agent, dedicated to improving the economic and social status of African Americans. Uncontrollable circumstances, including
12784-716: The lower reaches of the river to the Upper Sacramento, Pit, McCloud and other tributary streams. It is estimated that half of the best salmon habitat in the Sacramento basin lies upstream of Shasta Dam. Also, the dam caused temperatures in the river to rise because it released waters from higher elevations of Shasta Lake, which are warmed by the sun far more than the surface of the original river pre-dam. Warm waters are harmful to salmon, which prefer colder temperatures, and also impact other fish populations such as steelhead and wild California trout . In an attempt to save
12920-441: The main dam structure and discharging onto the face of the spillway. The upper level has six outlets, each with a capacity of 6,534 cubic feet per second (185.0 m/s). The middle layer has eight conduits capable of carrying 3,100 cubic feet per second (88 m/s) and the lowest has four exits each able to discharge 4,450 cubic feet per second (126 m/s) for a total of 81,800 cubic feet per second (2,320 m/s). The spillway
13056-557: The mountains through Clovis and many smaller communities. This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System. State Route 180 is a state highway which runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from Mendota through Fresno to Kings Canyon National Park. A short piece near the eastern end, through the Grant Grove section of Kings Canyon National Park,
13192-613: The nearest being the Battle Creek Fault Zone located approximately 27 miles south of the dam and capable of producing a 7.3 magnitude event. Volcanic hazards are Mount Shasta , Mount Lassen , and the Medicine Lake Highlands . The Shasta Dam has had a severe negative effect on populations of Pacific salmon in the Sacramento River watershed ever since its gates were first closed in 1943. The massive structure completely prevents salmon migration from
13328-407: The numerous activities available at the lake; hiking, picnicking, mountain biking, hunting and camping are popular in the mountainous vicinity surrounding it. Arch-gravity dam An arch-gravity dam or arched dam is a dam with the characteristics of both an arch dam and a gravity dam . It is a dam that curves upstream in a narrowing curve that directs most of the water pressure against
13464-533: The onset of World War II prevented completing it to that final design height. Reclamation has suggested three options for the dam raise, ranging from less than 20 feet (6.1 m) to more than 200 feet (61 m). The "low option", which simply comprises adding a vertical concrete dike to the top of the dam, would provide maximum additional storage while minimizing requirements for reconstruction of buildings and facilities around Shasta Lake. The "intermediate option" would require adding more than 100 feet (30 m) to
13600-417: The other sections. As the foundations were completed, concrete placement of the main dam body could begin. For this purpose, a system of steel cable towers was erected to carry the steel concrete-pouring buckets. The tower setup comprised one main tower, standing 465 feet (142 m) high from its foundations and 700 feet (210 m) above the river, and seven movable auxiliary towers; cables were strung from
13736-498: The plunging salmon populations, the federal government constructed the Coleman National Fish Hatchery on Battle Creek in 1942. The hatchery is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Redding, and produces 13,850,000 eggs per year – nearly 87 percent of which are for the fall chinook salmon run. Another remedy was carried out by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1991, with the installation of
13872-514: The poor air quality. The elderly population is also vulnerable to air pollution and could even suffer from heart attacks due to decreased lung functions. Reports state that the residents in this community suffer from high rates of asthma and experience many related symptoms. The American Lung Association attributes the noxious gas in the San Joaquin Valley to roughly 1,300 premature deaths every year, including public impacts such as lost days of school or work and emergency room visits, and
14008-669: The portions of SR 99 between I-5 and the U.S. 50 junction in Sacramento are upgraded to Interstate standards . State Route 58 (SR 58), which is a freeway in Bakersfield and along most of its route until its terminus in Barstow , is an extremely important and very heavily traveled route for truckers from the valley and the Bay Area who want to cross the Sierra Nevada and leave California (by way of Interstate 15 or Interstate 40 ) without having to climb Donner Pass or brave
14144-399: The potential to damage aqueducts, roads, bridges, and flood-control structures. In the long term, the subsidence caused by extracting groundwater could irreversibly reduce the underground aquifer's water storage capacity, although immediate and short term needs are given higher priority and sense of urgency than long term sustainability. The National Weather Service Forecast Office for
14280-583: The project would provide thousands of much-needed jobs, contributing a major portion of the Depression era federal job-creation programs. Roosevelt first considered the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for building the project, but ultimately transferred it to the Reclamation Service, the precursor to the Bureau of Reclamation , which had expertise in building large concrete dams as demonstrated in
14416-516: The regions of Punjab in India and Pakistan, the Philippines, and Southeast Asia, especially Laos and Cambodia. Punjabi Sikh Americans have immigrated to the San Joaquin Valley since the early 1900s and 1910s, and remain a very large presence in the area. To this day, Punjabi is the third most spoken language in the San Joaquin Valley region, after English and Spanish, and the first Sikh Gurdwara
14552-498: The rising waters of Shasta Lake. The dam was initially known as Kennett Dam, but was eventually named after nearby Mount Shasta . After surveying several nearby sites, the Bureau of Reclamation chose to build the dam in a 1,000-foot (300 m) deep canyon about a mile above the abandoned smelter town of Coram and two-and-a-half miles below Kennett. The dam was planned to be over 800 feet (240 m) high. The winning bid of $ 35,939,450 for construction came from Pacific Constructors Inc.,
14688-413: The river channel. The dam has vastly reduced the amount of sediment in the Sacramento, and the riverbanks now suffer decreased erosion, slowing the growth of meanders and side-channels. Additionally, nearly all the rock and sand used in the mixing of concrete for the dam was dredged from the river downstream of the dam, further depleting its sediment supply. Underneath the waters of Shasta Lake lie buried
14824-487: The rural population of states such as Kansas , Texas , Oklahoma , and Arkansas left at this time, selling their land and moving to Chicago , Kansas City , Detroit , and fast-growing Los Angeles . Those who remained experienced continuing deterioration of conditions, which reached their nadir during the drought that began in the late 1920s and created the infamous Dust Bowl . (Small cotton farmers in states such as Mississippi and Alabama suffered similar problems from
14960-498: The second-largest Hmong population of any American metropolitan area after Minneapolis–Saint Paul , and Stockton is believed to have the largest percentage of Cambodian Americans of any major American metropolitan area. Merced , Modesto, Fresno, Visalia , and Stockton have some of the largest populations of Laotian Americans in the United States. The Filipino American population is concentrated in Delano and Lathrop . Filipinos have
15096-623: The south to Merced in the north. Freight service is provided by BNSF Railway , Union Pacific Railroad and San Joaquin Valley Railroad . The valley is served by the Western Area Power Administration . Western owns and operates its own equipment here and so performs its own weed management . Rotating and mixing herbicide modes of action are employed to preserve efficacy . Hemmed in by mountains and rarely having strong winds to disperse smog ,
15232-451: The southern end of the valley and northern part of the valley because of quick access to major interstates and low local wages. Further integration with the rest of the state is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. Interstate 5 (I-5) and State Route 99 (SR 99) each run nearly the entire length of the San Joaquin Valley. I-5 runs in the western part of the valley, bypassing the major population centers (including Fresno, currently
15368-444: The state hoping to get jobs at Shasta Dam. In November 1938, construction started on a diversion channel that would shunt water to the east (left) side of the river so the foundations could be laid on the west side. The left bank of the river was widened and deepened using explosives, and a cofferdam was built to dry up the bypassed section. To supply sand and gravel to make concrete at the construction site, Pacific Constructors built
15504-538: The state to build numerous prisons in the area. The most notable of these is Corcoran , whose inmates have included Charles Manson and Juan Corona . Other correctional facilities in the valley are at Avenal , Chowchilla , Tracy , Delano , Coalinga , and Wasco . The only significant military base in the region is Naval Air Station Lemoore , a vast air base located 25 kilometres (16 mi) WSW of Hanford . Unlike many of California's other military installations, NAS Lemoore's operational importance has increased in
15640-479: The summer of 1943. By then, a total of 15 million tons of concrete had been used in the dam's construction, comprising the 16,900 50-foot blocks. Water storage at the Shasta Dam began in February 1944 when the diversion tunnel was sealed. As the lake rose behind it, the dam was completed to its final shape and the last bucket of concrete was poured on January 2, 1945. During this time, the Shasta Dam powerplant, with
15776-689: The surplus of crop burning to clear land. more air pollution is created, adding to the severity of the San Joaquin Valley's already poor air quality. The San Joaquin Valley suffers from extremely high ozone levels that tend to increase even more on hot days. Kids are more inclined to play outdoors during summer when the weather is warmer. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency this could lead to health issues such as asthma because these children are not fully developed yet. Roughly one in six children in this region suffer from asthma due to
15912-552: The surrounding cliffs serving as supporting walls. An arch-shaped bank-fill dam reduces the overall mass of the structure and the cost of construction compared to purely gravity dams. Arch dams and arch-gravity dams are most commonly used in hydraulic structures of more than 100 m in height. San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( / ˌ s æ n hw ɑː ˈ k iː n / SAN whah- KEEN ; Spanish : Valle de San Joaquín )
16048-511: The tents and shacks typical of construction workers' camps, the town was characterized by comfortable multi-room wooden houses. Pacific Constructors set up its main camp, called "Contractor's Camp" or "Shasta Dam Village", near the base of the Shasta Dam site. The company built a 2,000-man mess hall, hospital, recreation center and other amenities at the dam site. Three other makeshift camps nearby, called "Central Valley", "Project City", and "Summit City", soon filled with unemployed men from all over
16184-455: The top of the main tower to each of the others. Using this system, construction crews were able to transport concrete from the mixing plant, which lay directly adjacent to the main tower at the end of the conveyor belt, to the rising structure of the dam faster and cheaper than any other method. The tower was not fully demolished, so it remains submerged behind the dam. On occasion, the lake level can drop low enough to expose it again. Building of
16320-487: The traditional lands of the Winnemem Wintu , one of nine groups of the larger Wintu ethnicity of northern California. The Winnemem Wintu tribe is considered to be a ghost tribe because they are not a federally recognized tribe. It is estimated that the pre-colonization population of the valley was roughly 14,000; by 1900, due to diseases and settlers' encroachment it was reduced to 395. Of the men who survived out of
16456-536: The traffic congestion of Los Angeles . Proposals have also been made to designate this highway as a western extension of I-40 once the entirety of the route between Mojave and Barstow has been upgraded to a freeway. This would provide an Interstate connection for Bakersfield, currently the second-largest U.S. city without an Interstate. The most recent additions to this system are State Routes 168 and 180. Route 168 begins in Fresno on Route 180 linking to Huntington Lake in
16592-417: The turbines is driven by a high-pressure jet of water fed by a steel penstock 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter. Two smaller turbines generate power for operations at the dam itself. The plant serves to generate peaking power for the northern Sacramento Valley. Keswick Dam , about 9 miles (14 km) downstream, serves as an afterbay for Shasta, regulating its fluctuating water releases. A gravity structure,
16728-414: The valley was $ 46,713. The poverty rate for individuals below the poverty level is 23.7%. In 2005 U.S. congressional researchers compared the economically distressed Valley to the traditionally impoverished Appalachia region, resulting in the appellation New Appalachia . In 2011 Forbes, after taking the fluctuation of median home values, five of the top twenty "most miserable cities" were located in
16864-575: The valley's predominantly white farming elite manifested itself most notably during the 1960s and 1970s, when the United Farm Workers , led by César Chávez , went on numerous strikes and called for boycotts of table grapes. The UFW generated enormous sympathy throughout the United States, even managing to terminate several agricultural mechanization projects at the United States Department of Agriculture . However, from
17000-582: The valley's western rim and provides a connection to Ventura and Santa Barbara over the Santa Ynez Mountains ; and State Route 152 (SR 152), an important commuter route linking Silicon Valley with its fast-growing exurbs such as Los Banos . The busiest airport in San Joaquin Valley is the Fresno Yosemite International Airport , which offers scheduled passenger flights to several major airline hubs in
17136-450: The water in narrow, rocky locations where the gorge 's sides are of hard rock and the water is forced into a narrow channel. Therefore, the span needed for the dam is also relatively narrow, and the dam's curved design effectively holds the water back while using less construction material compared to a pure arch dam or gravity dam. These dams are more reliable than arch dams. Typically, arch-gravity dams are built in canyon-like terrain, with
17272-758: The west side of the river was rerouted. In December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor , prompting the United States to enter into World War II . With thousands of men enlisting in the armed forces, the Shasta Dam site soon had a severe labor shortage. During the war years, many of the people who worked at the dam were women and high school students, working on mostly "non-hazardous jobs". The dam played an important part in World War II even before its completion, supplying much-needed electricity to shipyards and aircraft factories in central California. However, some generators originally intended for Shasta ended up in
17408-628: The wildlife as well. In August 2015, the Director of the California Department of Water Resources stated, "Because of increased pumping, groundwater levels are reaching record lows—up to 100 feet lower than previous records." Research from NASA shows that parts of the San Joaquin Valley sank as much as 8 inches (0.20 m) in a four-month period, and land near Corcoran sank 13 inches (0.33 m) in 8 months. The sinking has destroyed thousands of groundwater well casings and has
17544-452: The world. The bridge was built to a height of more than 500 feet (150 m) above the Pit River, some 7 miles (11 km) east-northeast of the dam site, to accommodate the rising waters of Shasta Lake. The bypassed segment of the railroad from Redding to the Shasta site was re-appropriated as a branch line for construction trains, and was routed through a tunnel beneath the south abutment of
17680-523: Was 10% of births Likewise, the counties of the San Joaquin Valley have relatively high ratios of population to physicians, suggesting relatively low access, with the highest in Kings County at 1,027 patients per a physician, the San Joaquin Valley average at approximately 671 patients per a physician and the California average of 400 patients per a physician. Another measure of access is licensed acute care hospital beds per thousand population, where
17816-537: Was considered one of the greatest engineering feats of all time. Even before its dedication, Shasta Dam served an important role in World War II providing electricity to California factories, and still plays a vital part in the management of state water resources today. However, it has greatly changed the environment and ecology of the Sacramento River, and flooded sacred Native American tribal lands. In recent years, there has been debate over whether or not to raise
17952-399: Was founded in Stockton in 1915. Following abolition of immigration restrictions from Asia in the 1960s and 1970s, large numbers of Pakistanis and Indians from Punjab, Gujarat, and Southern India have settled in these valley communities including Modesto , Livingston , Fresno , Stockton , and Lodi . In addition, the late 1970s and '80s saw an influx of immigrants from Indochina following
18088-525: Was lost to urban development in the San Joaquin Valley. Although there have been some token efforts at confronting the problems of (sub) urban sprawl , the politically conservative climate of the Valley generally prefers traditional suburban sprawl type of growth such as low density housing and strip malls anchored by so-called big box stores and opposes measures such as "Smart Growth", "Transit Oriented Development", "High Density Housing", and increased public transit such as light and commuter rail. By August 2014,
18224-600: Was not widely supported due to its high cost (about $ 800 million in 2008 dollars); when proposed to Congress in 1921, it passed in the Senate but failed in the House of Representatives . However, the state of California continued to search for a solution. In 1931, State Engineer Edward Hyatt published a similar but less extensive proposal called the State Water Plan, with a projected cost of about $ 550 million. Including
18360-486: Was sold in 2005 to Flying J , a Salt Lake -based firm that operates truck stops and refineries. Flying J's bankruptcy in 2009 resulted in the refinery being shut down. The oil and gas fields in Kern County are receiving increased attention since the July 2009 announcement by Occidental Petroleum of significant discovery of oil and gas reserves Even prior to this discovery the region retains more oil reserves than any other part of California. Of California fields outside of
18496-608: Was the second highest dam in the world – surpassed only by Hoover Dam on the Colorado – as well as the highest man-made structure in California. It was also the second most massive concrete dam measured by volume, exceeded only by Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in Washington . An anonymous workman reportedly said, "Old Shasta's about the secondest dam there is." When the dam was completed, chief engineer Frank Crowe
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