Shasta Lake , also popularly known as Lake Shasta , is a reservoir in Shasta County, California , United States. It began to store water in 1944 due to the impounding of the Sacramento River by Shasta Dam , the ninth tallest dam in the United States.
118-876: Shasta Lake is a key facility of the Central Valley Project and provides flood control for the Sacramento Valley downstream of the dam. Water outflow generates power through the Shasta Powerplant and is subsequently used for irrigation and municipal purposes. The reservoir lies within the Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area , operated by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest . The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed
236-496: A hot-summer mediterranean climate ( Csa ) typical of the interior of Northern California with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters, along with great diurnal temperature variation. Central Valley Project The Central Valley Project ( CVP ) is a federal power and water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). It
354-541: A surface area of 30,000 acres (12,000 ha), making it the state's largest reservoir , and its third-largest body of water after Lake Tahoe and the Salton Sea . Ten miles (16 km) north of the city of Redding , with the town of Lakehead on its northern shore, Shasta Lake is popular for boating , water skiing , camping, house boating and fishing. Formed by the damming of the Sacramento River ,
472-766: A diversion point for a pair of canals, the Friant-Kern Canal and the Madera Canal . The Friant-Kern Canal sends water southwards through the Tulare Lake area to its terminus at Bakersfield on the Kern River , supplying irrigation water to Tulare , Fresno , and Kern counties. The Madera Canal takes water northwards to Madera County , emptying into the Chowchilla River . The Central Valley also consisted of 500 miles of canals, providing
590-736: A financial and cultural center. Substantial tensions during this era included nativist sentiments (primarily against Chinese immigrants), tensions between the increasing power of the Southern Pacific Railroad and small farmers, and the beginnings of the labor union movement. Northern California's economy is noted for being the de facto world leader in high-tech industry ( software , semiconductor /micro-electronics, biotechnology and medical devices /instruments), as well as being known for clean power , biomedical, government, and finance. Other significant industries include tourism, shipping, manufacturing, and agriculture. Its economy
708-481: A major trading post just north of today's Portland, Oregon . British fur trappers and hunters then used the Siskiyou Trail to travel throughout northern California. The leader of a further French scientific expedition to northern California, Eugene Duflot de Mofras , wrote in 1840 " ...it is evident that California will belong to whatever nation chooses to send there a man-of-war and two hundred men ." By
826-571: A pair of large dams on the Sacramento River north of the city of Redding . The Shasta Dam is the primary water storage and power generating facility of the CVP. It impounds the Sacramento River to form Shasta Lake , which can store over 4,500,000 acre-feet (5,600,000 dam ) of water, and can generate 680 MW of power. Shasta Dam functions to regulate the flow of the Sacramento River so that downstream diversion dams and canals can capture
944-647: A part of the Bay Area, in recent years the Bay Area has drawn more commuters from as far as Central Valley cities such as Sacramento , Stockton , Fresno , Turlock and Modesto . These cities in the central part of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills may be viewed as part of a single megalopolis . The 2010 U.S. Census showed that the Bay Area grew at a faster rate than the Greater Los Angeles Area while Greater Sacramento had
1062-788: A revolt and seized the small Mexican garrison in Sonoma. They raised the " Bear Flag " of the California Republic over Sonoma. The "Bear Flag Republic" lasted only 26 days, until the U.S. Army, led by John Frémont , took over on July 9. The California state flag today is based on this original Bear Flag, and continues to contain the words "California Republic." Commodore John Drake Sloat ordered his naval forces to occupy Yerba Buena (present San Francisco ) on July 7 and within days American forces controlled San Francisco, Sonoma, and Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. The treaty ending
1180-430: A safe eating advisory for fish caught in the lake based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in local species. The Shasta-Keswick Reservoir system is significantly contaminated with heavy metals, primarily due to contributions from four streams. Three of these streams contain acid mine drainage, with Spring Creek being the most notable contributor. This drainage releases high concentrations of zinc, cadmium, and copper into
1298-607: A series of man-made channels, the Mokelumne River , and other natural sloughs, marshes and distributaries. From there, the water travels to the C.W. Bill Jones Pumping Plant , which raises water into the Delta-Mendota Canal , which in turn travels 117 miles (188 km) southwards to Mendota Pool on the San Joaquin River, supplying water to other CVP reservoirs about midway. A facility exists at
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#17327761659301416-548: A tributary of the Sacramento River, generating 154 MW of power in the process. Whiskeytown Lake (formed by Clair. A Hill Whiskeytown Dam ) in turn provides water to the Spring Creek Tunnel, which travels into the lowermost extreme of Spring Creek, a stream that flows into Keswick Reservoir, generating another 180 MW of electricity. From there the water from the Trinity River empties into Keswick Reservoir and
1534-417: Is Mount Shasta . The Pit River flows from Alturas , and the waterfall Potem Falls is located on that arm of the lake. Shasta Dam was constructed between 1935 and 1945 across the Sacramento River , and Shasta Lake was formed in 1948. The Pit River , McCloud River , and several smaller tributaries had their lower courses and confluences with the Sacramento River submerged by the reservoir. Also beneath
1652-676: Is also home to one of the largest Air Force Bases on the West Coast, and the largest in California by square meters, Travis Air Force Base . Northern California's largest metropolitan area is the San Francisco Bay Area which consists of 9 counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties. The Bay Area consists of the major cities of San Jose , San Francisco , Oakland , and their many suburbs . Although not
1770-584: Is diverse, though more concentrated in high technology. It is home to the state capital, as well as several Western United States regional offices in San Francisco, such as the Federal Reserve and 9th Circuit Court . Northern California has a warm or mild to cool climate, in which the Sierra mountains gets snow in the late fall through winter and occasionally into spring. Summers are mild along
1888-585: Is generated at Folsom and Nimbus dams, and marketed to the Western Area Power Administration . The Folsom Unit consists of Folsom Dam , its primary water storage component, and Nimbus Dam , which serves as its downstream forebay. The Folsom Dam is located on the American River, and stores 1,010,000 acre-feet (1,250,000 dam ) of water in its reservoir, Folsom Lake . Folsom Lake covers 11,550 acres (4,670 ha) and
2006-674: Is located downstream of Nimbus Dam, to compensate for the two dams' destruction of American River spawning grounds. The Sly Park Unit includes Sly Park Dam , Jenkinson Lake, the Camp Creek Diversion Dam, and two diversion tunnels. The Sly Park Dam and its similarly-sized auxiliary dam form Jenkinson Lake, which covers 650 acres (260 ha). Jenkinson Lake feeds the Camino Conduit, a 5 mi (8.0 km) aqueduct . The Camp Creek Diversion Dam diverts some water from Camp Creek into Jenkinson Lake. The third unit
2124-567: Is located inside the Folsom Lake State Recreational Area . Eight additional earth fill saddle dams are required to keep the reservoir from overflowing. The dam also generates 200 MW from three generators. About 7 mi (11 km) downstream of Folsom Dam is the Nimbus Dam , forming Lake Natoma . The dam generates 7.7 MW from two Kaplan turbines on the north side of the river. The Nimbus Fish Hatchery
2242-434: Is often considered as having an additional division north of the urban areas of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento metropolitan areas. Extreme northern residents have felt under-represented in state government and, in 1941, attempted to form a new state with southwestern Oregon to be called Jefferson , or more recently to introduce legislation to split California into two or three states . The coastal area north of
2360-569: Is released into rivers and wetlands in order to comply with state and federal ecological standards. Two large reservoirs, Shasta Lake and Trinity Lake , are formed by a pair of dams in the mountains north of the Sacramento Valley . Water from Shasta Lake flows into the Sacramento River which flows to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and water from Trinity Lake flows into the Trinity River which leads to
2478-594: Is the Auburn-Folsom South Unit , consisting of several dams on American River tributaries. These include Sugar Pine Dam and Pipeline (supplying water to Foresthill ), and the uncompleted Folsom South Canal. The primary component of the unit, concrete thin-arch Auburn Dam , was to be located on the North Fork of the American, but was never built because of the significant risk of earthquakes in
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#17327761659302596-610: The American River , which drains off the Sierra Nevada and flows into the Sacramento River . The division is further divided into three units: the Folsom, Sly Park and Auburn-Folsom South. The American River Division stores water in the American River watershed, to both provide water supply for local settlements, and supply it to the rest of the system. The dams also are an important flood control measure. Hydroelectricity
2714-533: The California Coast Ranges . The West San Joaquin Division and San Luis Unit consist of several major facilities that are shared with the federal California State Water Project (SWP). San Luis Dam (or B.F. Sisk Dam) is the largest storage facility, holding 2,000,000 acre-feet (2,500,000 dam ) of water. Although called an offstream storage reservoir by USBR, the reservoir floods part of
2832-625: The California State Water Project (SWP). Many CVP water users are represented by the Central Valley Project Water Association. In addition to water storage and regulation, the system has a hydroelectric capacity of over 2,000 megawatts , and provides recreation and flood control with its twenty dams and reservoirs. It has allowed major cities to grow along Valley rivers which previously would flood each spring, and transformed
2950-610: The California state quarter . Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon - Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park , Pinnacles National Park , Lassen Volcanic National Park and the largest in the contiguous forty-eight states, Death Valley National Park . Other areas under federal protection include Muir Woods National Monument , Giant Sequoia National Monument , Devils Postpile National Monument , Lava Beds National Monument , Point Reyes National Seashore ,
3068-469: The Cold War –era expansion of the defense industry. Since the 2000 U.S. Census, Northern California has grown at a faster rate than Southern California due to the strong economic performances of the Bay Area and Sacramento. The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of parks in northern California. The best known is Yosemite National Park , which is displayed on the reverse side of
3186-648: The Delta was where limited irrigation for orchards first started. Following the arrival of the Transcontinental railroad , immigration from Asia and the rest of the U.S. led to growing numbers of settlers in the region. Despite the rich soils and favorable weather of the 42,000-square-mile (110,000 km ) Central Valley, immigrants to the valley who were unfamiliar with its seasonal patterns of rainfall and flooding began to take up irrigation practices. Farmers soon found themselves troubled by frequent floods in
3304-840: The Missouri Compromise . But instead, the passing of the Compromise of 1850 enabled California to be admitted to the Union as a free state . The decades following the Gold Rush brought dramatic expansion to northern California, both in population and economically – particularly in agriculture. The completion of the First transcontinental railroad in 1869, with its terminus in Sacramento (and then later, Oakland), meant that northern California's agricultural produce (and some manufactured goods) could now be shipped economically to
3422-780: The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary , and the Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries (both off the coast of San Francisco). Included within the latter National Marine Sanctuary is the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge ; this National Wildlife Refuge is one of approximately twenty-five such refuges in northern California. National forests occupy large sections of northern California, including
3540-619: The Pacific Ocean . Both lakes release water at controlled rates. There, before it can flow on to San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean , some of the water is intercepted by a diversion channel and transported to the Delta-Mendota Canal , which conveys water southwards through the San Joaquin Valley, supplying water to San Luis Reservoir (a SWP-shared facility) and the San Joaquin River at Mendota Pool in
3658-776: The Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond , and the Tule Lake National Monument outside of Tulelake . Northern California hosts a number of world-renowned universities including Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley . Top-tier public graduate schools include Boalt Hall and Hastings law schools and UC San Francisco (a top-ranked medical school) and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine ,
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3776-401: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta faced problems in dry summer and autumn months when the inflowing water was low. In order to continue to sustain the valley's economy, there needed to be systems to regulate flows in the rivers and equally distribute water among the north and south parts of the valley. In 1873, Barton S. Alexander completed a report for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that
3894-551: The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta . It is a large receding geological floodplain moderated by its Mediterranean climate of dry summers and wet winters that includes regular major drought cycles . At the time of its construction, the project was at the center of a political and cultural battle over the state's future. It intersected with the state's ongoing war over land use, access to water rights, impacts on indigenous communities, large vs. small farmers,
4012-668: The San Joaquin River —which has far less average flow than the Sacramento—in order to divert its water to southern Central Valley aqueducts. The Friant Dam , completed in 1942, is the largest component of the Friant Division of the CVP. The dam crosses the San Joaquin River where it spills out of the Sierra Nevada, forming Millerton Lake , which provides water storage for San Joaquin Valley irrigators as well as providing
4130-735: The Shasta tribe in the north, to the Miwoks in the central coast and Sierra Nevada, to the Yokuts of the southern Central Valley, northern California was among the most densely populated areas of pre-Columbian North America. The first European to explore the coast was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo , sailing for the Spanish Crown; in 1542, Cabrillo's expedition sailed perhaps as far north as the Rogue River in today's Oregon . Beginning in 1565,
4248-642: The Shasta–Trinity , Klamath , Modoc , Lassen , Mendocino , Eldorado , Tahoe , and Sequoia national forests, among others. Included within (or adjacent to) national forests are federally protected wilderness areas, including the Trinity Alps , Castle Crags , Granite Chief , and Desolation wilderness areas. In addition, the California Coastal National Monument protects all islets, reefs, and rock outcroppings from
4366-713: The Sierra Nevada mountain range to Mount Patterson and the Nevada border. The Mojave Desert and the Great Basin Desert are separated from Northern California by mountain ranges in this definition of bioregions. California's north–south midway division is around 37°N , near the level of Morgan Hill and Chowchilla . (The geographic center of California is at 37°09′58″N 119°26′58″W / 37.16611°N 119.44944°W / 37.16611; -119.44944 near North Fork , northeast of Fresno. ) Popularly, though, "Northern California" usually refers to
4484-597: The Sierra Nevada , including Yosemite Valley and part of Lake Tahoe , Mount Shasta (the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range after Mount Rainier in Washington ), and most of the Central Valley , one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. Northern California is also home to Silicon Valley , the global headquarters for some of the most powerful tech and Internet-related companies in
4602-560: The Siskiyou Trail from missions in northern California to British and American settlements in Oregon . Although a small number of American traders and trappers had lived in northern California since the early 1830s, the first organized overland party of American immigrants to arrive in northern California was the Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841 via the new California Trail . Also in 1841, an overland exploratory party of
4720-536: The Summer of Love , winemaking , the cradle of the international environmental movement, and the open, casual workplace first popularized in the Silicon Valley dot-com boom and now widely in use around the world. Other examples of innovation across diverse fields range from Genentech (development and commercialization of genetic engineering) to CrossFit as a pioneer in extreme human fitness and training. It
4838-557: The Trinity Dam forms a blockade that prevents salmon from reaching about 109 miles (175 km) of upriver spawning grounds. In the early years of the 21st century, the Bureau of Reclamation finally began to steadily increase the water flow downstream from Lewiston Dam. While providing less water for the CVP altogether, the new flow regime allows operations to meet the line drawn by Reclamation itself in 1952 stating that at least 48% of
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4956-682: The United States Exploring Expedition came down the Siskiyou Trail from the Pacific Northwest. In 1846, the Donner Party earned notoriety as they struggled to enter northern California. When the Mexican–American War was declared on May 13, 1846, it took almost two months (mid-July 1846) for word to get to California. On June 14, 1846, some 30 non-Mexican settlers, mostly Americans, staged
5074-416: The semi-arid desert environment of the San Joaquin Valley into productive farmland. Freshwater stored in Sacramento River reservoirs and released downriver during dry periods prevents salt water from intruding into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta during high tide . There are eight divisions of the project and ten corresponding units, many of which operate in conjunction, while others are independent of
5192-414: The 1830s, a significant number of non- Californios had immigrated to northern California. Chief among these was John Sutter , a European immigrant from Switzerland , who was granted 48,827 acres (197.60 km ) centered on the area of today's Sacramento . American trappers began entering northern California in the 1830s. In 1834, American visionary Ewing Young led a herd of horses and mules over
5310-435: The Bay Area is often referred to as the North Coast , touching the counties of Mendocino , Lake , Humboldt , and Del Norte . The interior region north of Sacramento metropolitan area is referred to by locals as the Northstate , consisting of about 20 counties. "Northern California" was used by Tim Draper as the name of the northernmost state to be created by splitting California into three new states. The bill, Cal 3 ,
5428-424: The Bureau of Reclamation studied the feasibility of raising Shasta Dam. One of the proposed heights was 18.5 feet (5.6 m) greater than its current size, thus increasing the storage capacity of Shasta Lake by 636,000 acre-feet (784,000 dam ). The agency also proposed a smaller raise of 6.5 ft (2.0 m) that would add 290,000 acre-feet (360,000 dam ). Previously, a 200 ft (61 m) raise of
5546-434: The CVP in order to lessen the ecological impact on the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. Actions mandated included the release of more water to supply rivers and wetlands, funding for habitat restoration work (especially for anadromous fish spawning gravels), water temperature control, water conservation, fish passage, increasing the service area of the CVP's canals, and other items. Despite the preservation of river programs,
5664-415: The Central Valley into the breadbasket of the U.S. Following the 1848 California Gold Rush , large numbers of U.S. citizens came into the region and made attempts to practice rainfed agriculture , but most of the Central Valley land was taken up by large cattle ranchers like Henry Miller who eventually controlled 22,000 square miles of land. The large-scale levee construction by Chinese workers along
5782-440: The Central Valley watershed, the CVP's diversion of water from the Trinity River from Lewiston Dam into Whiskeytown Lake has significantly hurt the Klamath River tributary's salmon run. Over three-quarters of the river's flow is diverted through the Clear Creek Tunnel and away from the Trinity River, causing the river below the dam to become warm, silty, shallow and slow-flowing, attributes that hurt young salmon. Furthermore,
5900-422: The Central Valley, as well as Fresno and Visalia on the southern end. Though smaller in each case, with the notable exception of Fresno , than the larger cities of the general region, these smaller regional centers are often of historical and economic importance for their respective size, due to their locations, which are primarily rural or otherwise isolated. Inhabited for millennia by Native Americans , from
6018-444: The Gold Rush era (52%) came during the 1940s, as the region was the destination of many post-War veterans and their families, attracted by the greatly expanding industrial base and (often) by their time stationed in northern California during World War II . The largest absolute increase occurred during the 1980s (over 2.1 million person increase), attracted by job opportunities in part by the expansion taking place in Silicon Valley and
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#17327761659306136-463: The Mexican–American War was signed on February 2, 1848, and Mexico formally ceded Alta California (including all of present-day northern California) to the United States. The California Gold Rush took place almost exclusively in northern California from 1848 to 1855. It began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma . News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 people coming to California from
6254-409: The Russian state-sponsored Russian-American Company established Fort Ross , a fur trading outpost on the coast of today's Sonoma County . Fort Ross was the southernmost Russian settlement, located some 60 miles (97 km) north of Spanish colonies in San Francisco. In 1839, the settlement was abandoned due to its inability to meet resource demands, and the increasing Mexican and American presence in
6372-406: The Sacramento River and generating peaking power in the process. Trinity Dam forms Trinity Lake , the second largest CVP water-storage reservoir, with just over half the capacity of Shasta and a generating capacity of 140 MW. Lewiston Dam , downstream of Trinity Dam, diverts water into the Clear Creek Tunnel, which travels to empty into a third reservoir, Whiskeytown Lake on Clear Creek ,
6490-399: The Sacramento River. In 1963, the Spring Creek Debris Dam was constructed just upstream of the outlet of the Spring Creek Tunnel, to prevent acid mine drainage from the Iron Mountain Mine from continuing downstream and contaminating the river. The American River Division is located in north-central California, on the east side of the Great Central Valley. Its structures use the water of
6608-409: The Sacramento Valley and a general lack of water in the San Joaquin Valley. The Sacramento River , which drains the northern part, receives between 60 and 75% of the precipitation in the Valley, despite the Sacramento Valley covering less area than the much larger San Joaquin Valley, drained by the San Joaquin River , which receives only about 25% of the rainfall. Furthermore, cities drawing water from
6726-456: The Sacramento Valley in 2017, according to a report sent to the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). This is the second lowest number of returning adult winter run salmon since modern counting techniques were implemented in 2003. By comparison, over 117,000 winter Chinooks returned to spawn in 1969. The CVP stores about 13 million acre-feet (16 km ) of water in 20 reservoirs in
6844-423: The Sacramento upriver of Shasta Dam, the American upriver of Folsom Dam, the Stanislaus upriver of New Melones Dam, and the San Joaquin upriver of Mendota —have become inaccessible to migrating salmon. In three of these cases, it is because the dams are too high and their reservoirs too large for fish to bypass via fish ladders . The San Joaquin River, however, had a different fate. Almost 60 mi (97 km) of
6962-444: The San Joaquin salmon run into the Merced River in the 1950s failed, because the salmon did not recognize the Merced as their "home stream". Not only on the San Joaquin River have CVP facilities wreaked environmental havoc. On the Sacramento River, Red Bluff Diversion Dam in Tehama County , while not as large or as impacting as Friant Dam, was once a barrier to the migration of anadromous fish. The original fish passage facilities of
7080-401: The San Luis Canal towards the Coalinga area. A pair of separate dams, Los Baños Detention Dam and Little Panoche Detention Dam, provide flood control in the Los Baños area. The San Luis Drain was a separate project by USBR in an attempt to keep contaminated irrigation drainage water out of the San Joaquin River, emptying into Kesterson Reservoir where the water would evaporate or seep into
7198-423: The San Luis Canal, the federally built section of the California Aqueduct , which carries both CVP and SWP water. The San Luis Canal terminates at Kettleman City , where it connects with the state-built section of the California Aqueduct. With a capacity of 13,100 cubic feet per second (370 m /s), it is one of the largest irrigation canals in the United States. The Coalinga or Pleasant Valley Canal branches off
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#17327761659307316-451: The San Luis Creek valley. San Luis Creek, however, is not the primary water source for the reservoir. Downstream of San Luis Reservoir is O'Neill Forebay , which is intersected by the Delta-Mendota Canal , a separate CVP facility. Water is pumped from the canal into the Forebay and uphill into San Luis Reservoir, which functions as an additional water source during dry periods. Water released from San Luis and O'Neill reservoirs feeds into
7434-430: The Santa Clara Tunnel and Conduit, carries water to the Santa Clara Valley. Once, profuse runs of anadromous fish — salmon , steelhead , and others—migrated up the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers to spawn in great numbers. The construction of CVP dams on the two rivers and many of their major tributaries—namely Friant Dam and Shasta Dam —mostly ended the once-bountiful Central Valley salmon run. From north to south,
7552-413: The Shasta and Keswick Dams. Diversion dams , pumping plants, and aqueducts provide municipal water supply as well as irrigation of about 100,000 acres (4,000,000 dam ). The Red Bluff Diversion Dam diverts part of the Sacramento River into the 110-mile (180 km) Tehama-Colusa Canal, the 21-mile (34 km) Corning Canal and a small reservoir formed by Funks Dam. Six pump plants take water from
7670-476: The Spanish Manila galleons crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Spanish Philippines , with silver and gemstones from Mexico. The Manila galleons returned across the northern Pacific, and reached North America usually off the coast of northern California, and then continued south with their Asian trade goods to Mexico. In 1579, northern California was visited by the English explorer Sir Francis Drake who landed north of today's San Francisco and claimed
7788-632: The Spanish colonial model of Catholic missions and ranchos (1772–1846) was then followed by the current United States era. Due to its Mediterranean climate , the first cultural period was hunter-gatherer based. The Spanish missions' ranching and tanning business was based on the forced labor of Las Californias tribes. Spain's model of land use with the grazing of livestock for meat, wool and leather started along Alta California 's coast eventually spreading inland. The U.S. era evolved from primarily ranching to large-scale plantations or more commonly known today as corporate farming that turned
7906-420: The annual event moved to Clear Lake, California , 170 miles southwest of Shasta Lake. Boardstock drew many professional wakeboard riders from around the world, with an average attendance of 15,000 people. The event lasted for 3 days each year with several wakeboard contests being performed. There are a number of marinas on Shasta Lake offering a variety of services, including houseboat rentals. Shasta Lake has
8024-428: The area dates from at least 19,000 years ago and successive waves of arrivals led to one of the most densely populated areas of pre-Columbian North America. The arrival of European explorers from the early 16th to the mid-18th centuries did not establish European settlements in northern California. In 1770, the Spanish mission at Monterey was the first European settlement in the area, followed by other missions along
8142-412: The area for England. In 1602, the Spaniard Sebastián Vizcaíno explored California's coast as far north as Monterey Bay , where he went ashore. Other Spanish explorers sailed along the coast of northern California for the next 150 years, but no settlements were established. The first European inhabitants were Spanish missionaries, who built missions along the California coast. The mission at Monterey
8260-619: The area, and general public opposition to the project. However, the high Foresthill Bridge , built as part of the preliminary work for Auburn Dam, still stands. County Line Dam, about 10 miles (16 km) south of Folsom Dam, was also never built. One of the most important parts of the CVP's San Joaquin Valley water system is the series of aqueducts and pumping plants that take water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and send it southwards to supply farms and cities. The Delta Cross Channel intercepts Sacramento River water as it travels westwards towards Suisun Bay and diverts it south through
8378-442: The canal and feed it to the Colusa County water distribution grid. Water diversions from northern rivers in the state remain controversial due to environmental damage. Trinity River Division is the second largest CVP department for the northern Sacramento Valley. The primary purpose of the division is to divert water from the Trinity River into the Sacramento River drainage downstream of Shasta Dam in order to provide more flow in
8496-575: The city dwellers and power sales from the generation of electricity pay of the project costs. On the Stanislaus River , a major tributary of the San Joaquin, lies the relatively independent East Side Division and New Melones Unit of the CVP. The sole component of the division/unit is New Melones Dam , forming New Melones Lake , which, when filled to capacity, holds nearly 2,400,000 acre-feet (3,000,000 dam ) of water, about equal to
8614-520: The coast and generally warm and dry, while winters are cool and usually wet. The high temperatures range from 50s °F (10–15 °C) to 30s °F (−1 – +4 °C) in the winters while summers temperature range is 90s °F (32–37 °C) to 60s °F (15–20 °C) or 50s °F (10–15 °C), with highs well into the 100s °F (37–42 °C) for the Sacramento region. Snow covers the mountains (generally above 3,000 feet (910 m)) in mid January through February. Fog occurs infrequently or occurs normally in
8732-458: The coasts. The Gold Rush also had negative effects: American colonists chose to use genocide as a tool to remove the Indigenous people so that they could look for gold on their land. The Gold Rush also increased pressure to make California a U.S. state . Pro-slavery politicians initially attempted to permanently divide northern and southern California at 36 degrees, 30 minutes, the line of
8850-595: The coast—eventually extending as far north as Sonoma County . Northern California is not a formal geographic designation. Historically, the state was divided by the Tehachapi Mountains which was a barrier to travelers before highways were built, and remains a bioregion barrier. This geographical barrier curves from Point Conception at the Pacific Ocean eastward through Mount Pinos , Tejon Pass and Tehachapi Pass , then cuts northward through
8968-517: The crest of the old dam. This results in the river below the dam attaining a much higher temperature than usual, hurting native fish and wildlife. To solve this problem, Reclamation shuts off operations of the dam's hydroelectric power plant when water levels are drastically low, but this results in power shortages. Originally, after the dam was constructed, the State of California put filling the reservoir on hold because of enormous public opposition to what
9086-539: The dam continually experienced problems from the beginning of operation in 1966, and introduced species that prey on young smolt often gather at the base of the dam, which reduced the population of outmigrating juvenile salmon into the Pacific. The Red Bluff Diversion Dam has since been replaced with a fish screen and pumping plant, thus allowing unimpaired passage through Red Bluff. Further upstream, Keswick and Shasta Dams form total barriers to fish migration. Even out of
9204-465: The dam, increasing storage to 13,890,000 acre-feet (17,130,000 dam ), was considered, but deemed uneconomical. When Shasta Dam was first built, it was actually planned to be two hundred feet higher than it is now, but Reclamation stopped construction at its present height because of a shortage of materials and workers during World War II . The raising of the dam would further regulate and store more Sacramento River water for dry periods, thus benefiting
9322-481: The development of world-famous and online business models (such as Apple , Hewlett-Packard , Google , Yahoo! , and eBay ), northern California has been at the forefront of new ways of doing business. In science, advances range from being the first to isolate and name fourteen transuranic chemical elements , to breakthroughs in microchip technology. Cultural contributions include the works of Ansel Adams , George Lucas , and Clint Eastwood , as well as beatniks ,
9440-572: The dwindling fish populations of Northern and Central California rivers. In 2017 the Klamath and Trinity rivers witnessed the worst fall run Chinook salmon return in recorded history, leading to a disaster declaration in California and Oregon due to the loss of the commercial fisheries. The recreational fall Chinook salmon fishery in both the ocean and the Trinity and Klamath rivers was also closed in 2017. Only 1,123 adult winter Chinook salmon returned to
9558-598: The emergency spillways, prompting the state and federal governments to repeal the limits they had imposed on the reservoir. Furthermore, the project allows a far smaller sustainable water yield than originally expected, and Reclamation calls the dam "a case study of all that can go wrong with a project". In response to these environmental problems, Congress passed in 1992 the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA), Title 34 of Public Law 102-575, to change water management practices in
9676-471: The entire operations of the CVP, and also generating additional power. However, the proposed height increase was fought over for many reasons. Raising the dam would cost several hundred million dollars and raise the price of irrigation water from Shasta Lake. It would drown most of the remaining land belonging to the Winnemem Wintu tribe—90 percent of whose land already lies beneath the surface of
9794-637: The entrance of the pump plant in order to catch fish that would otherwise end up in the Delta-Mendota Canal. A second canal, the Contra Costa Canal , captures freshwater near the central part of the delta, taking it 48 miles (77 km) southwards, distributing water to the Clayton and Ygnacio Canals in the process, and supplying water to Contra Loma Dam, eventually terminating at Martinez Reservoir. The CVP also has several dams on
9912-460: The flow of the river more efficiently, and to prevent flooding in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta where many water pump facilities for San Joaquin Valley aqueducts are located. The Keswick Dam functions as an afterbay (regulating reservoir) for the Shasta Dam, also generating power. The Sacramento Canals Division of the CVP takes water from the Sacramento River much farther downstream of
10030-495: The foothills of the Sierra Nevada , the Klamath Mountains and the California Coast Ranges , and passes about 7.4 million acre-feet (9.1 km ) of water annually through its canals. Of the water transported, about 5 million acre-feet (6.2 km ) goes to irrigate 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) of farmland, 600,000 acre-feet (0.74 km ) supplies municipal uses, and 800,000 acre-feet (0.99 km )
10148-662: The ground. Because of environmental concerns, the system was never completed. The CVP also operates a San Felipe Division to supply water to 63,500 acres (25,700 ha) of land in the Santa Clara Valley west of the Coast Ranges. San Justo Dam stores water diverted from San Luis Reservoir through the Pacheco Tunnel and Hollister Conduit, which travel through the Diablo Range . A separate canal,
10266-530: The lake has 365 mi (587 km) of mostly steep mountainous shoreline covered with tall evergreen trees and manzanita . The maximum depth is 517 feet (158 m). The lake has four major arms, each created by an approaching river: the Sacramento River , the McCloud River , Sulanharas Creek , and the Pit River . The Sacramento River's source is the Klamath Mountains . The McCloud River's source
10384-564: The lake is the submerged town of Kennett and many village sites of the Wintun people together with their traditional fishing, hunting, and gathering locations. Parts of the defunct tunnels and right of way of the Southern Pacific Transportation Company can be seen when the water level is low. Shasta Lake hosted the first "Boardstock" event in 1996, which continued there annually through 1999, after which
10502-501: The lake—and flood several miles of the McCloud River , protected under National Wild and Scenic River status. Buildings, bridges, roads and other structures would have to be relocated. The added capacity of the reservoir would change flow fluctuations in the lower Sacramento River, and native fish populations, especially salmon, would suffer with the subsequent changes to the ecology of the river. New Melones Dam has come under even greater controversy than Shasta Dam, mainly because of
10620-401: The largest growth rate of any metropolitan area in California. The state's larger inland cities are considered part of Northern California in cases when the state is divided into two parts. Key cities in the region which are not in major metropolitan areas include Eureka on the far North Coast , Redding , at the northern end of the Central Valley, Chico , and Yuba City in the mid-north of
10738-695: The largest veterinary school in the United States. (Partial list) (Partial list) The following regions are entirely or partly within northern California: Northern California is home to three of the state's four extended metropolitan areas , which are home to over three-fourths of the region's population as of the 2010 United States Census : The following are major central business districts: See also articles: See also categories: There are 11 airports in Northern California categorized as Primary Service Commercial airports by
10856-436: The late 1930s, and the last facilities were completed in the early 1970s. Other features of the project were never constructed, some lie partly finished, or are still awaiting authorization. Dec 2 - USBR regulations stipulate that water only be given out to farmers with 160 acres of land or less - see 4-7-1944 1951 Jan 3 - CVP and state agree to keep grasslands flooded to protect migratory birds Shasta Division consists of
10974-536: The northern California coast by Spain. By 1820, Spanish influence extended inland approximately 25 to 50 miles (80 km) from the missions. Outside of this zone, perhaps 200,000 to 250,000 Native Americans continued to lead traditional lives. The Adams-Onís Treaty , signed in 1819 between Spain and the young United States, set the northern boundary of the Spanish claims at the 42nd parallel, effectively creating today's northern boundary of northern California. In 1812,
11092-719: The other being Southern California . The main northern population centers include the San Francisco Bay Area (anchored by the cities of San Jose , San Francisco , and Oakland ), the Greater Sacramento area (anchored by the state capital Sacramento ), the Redding, California , area south of the Cascade Range , and the Metropolitan Fresno area (anchored by the city of Fresno ). Northern California also contains redwood forests, along with most of
11210-642: The problems associated with the CVP with programs like the Refuge Water Supply Program . In recent years, a combination of drought and regulatory decisions passed based on the Endangered Species Act of 1973 have forced Reclamation to turn off much of the water for the west side of the San Joaquin Valley in order to protect the fragile ecosystem in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and keep alive
11328-592: The process, eventually reaching canals that irrigates farms in the valley. Friant Dam crosses the San Joaquin River upstream of Mendota Pool, diverting its water southwards into canals that travel into the Tulare Lake area of the San Joaquin Valley, as far south as the Kern River . Finally, New Melones Lake , a separate facility, stores water flow of a San Joaquin River tributary for use during dry periods. Other smaller, independent facilities exist to provide water to local irrigation districts. The Central Valley Project
11446-411: The project's conflicts with federal and state limits and its impact on the watershed of the Stanislaus River . The original Melones Dam, submerged underneath New Melones Lake (hence the name New Melones Dam ) is the source of one of these problems. The disused Melones Dam blocks cold water at the bottom of the lake from reaching the river, especially in dry years when the surface of the lake is closer to
11564-550: The project. Unfortunately, because of insufficient money in the state's treasury and the coincidence with the Great Depression , California turned to the national government for funding to build the project. This resulted in several transfers of the project between California and the federal government, and between Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. The first dams and canals of the project started going up in
11682-452: The region. After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico continued Spain's missions and settlements in northern California as well as Spain's territorial claims. The Mexican Californios (Spanish-speaking Californians) in these settlements primarily traded cattle hides and tallow with American and European merchant vessels. In 1825, the Hudson's Bay Company established
11800-422: The rest of the United States and abroad. San Francisco grew from a tiny hamlet, home to about 1,000 Californios into a boomtown of over 50,000 people in the 12 years between 1848 and 1860. New roads, churches, and schools were built, and new towns sprung up, aided in part by the development of new methods of transportation such as steamships which came into regular service and railroads which now connected
11918-574: The rest of the United States. In return, immigrants from the rest of the United States (and Europe) could comfortably come to northern California. A network of railroads spread throughout northern California, and in 1887, a rail link was completed to the Pacific Northwest . Almost all of these railways came under the control of the Southern Pacific Railroad , headquartered in San Francisco, and San Francisco continued as
12036-672: The rest of the network. California agriculture and related industries now directly account for 7% of the gross state product for which the CVP supplied water for about half. Many CVP operations have had considerable environmental consequences, including a decline in the salmon population of four major California rivers in the northern state, and the reduction of riparian zones and wetlands . Many historical sites and Native American tribal lands have been flooded by CVP reservoirs. In addition, runoff from intensive irrigation has polluted rivers and groundwater . The Central Valley Project Improvement Act , passed in 1992, intends to alleviate some of
12154-496: The river is dry because of diversions from Friant Dam and Millerton Lake . Even downstream of Mendota, where the Delta-Mendota Canal gives the river a new surge of water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, irrigation runoff water, contaminated with pesticides and fertilizer , has caused the river to become heavily polluted. To make matters worse, efforts by the California Department of Fish and Game to route
12272-403: The river's natural flow must be left untouched in order for Trinity River salmon to survive. The lack of flow in the Trinity up to then was also a violation of the authorization that Congress made over the operation of the dam. The "...legislation required that enough be left in the Trinity for in-basin needs, including preservation of the salmon fishery." In the early years of the 21st century,
12390-848: The shore of northern California out to a distance of 12 nmi (22 km), along the entire northern California coastline. In addition, the National Park Service administers protected areas on Alcatraz Island , the Golden Gate National Recreation Area , Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area , and the Smith River National Recreation Area . The NPS also administers the Manzanar National Historic Site in Inyo County ,
12508-426: The state legislature continued to have the power to construct dams. Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal ) is a geographic and cultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California , spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's 58 counties . Northern California in its largest definition is determined by dividing the state into two regions,
12626-427: The state's irrigation districts and public vs. private power. Its proponents ignored environmental concerns over its impacts, other than the outcome not damage the major stakeholders at that time. The Central Valley of California has gone through two distinct culturally driven land use eras. The first was the indigenous tribal period that lasted for thousands of years. Then came the arrival of Europeans, first by
12744-632: The state's northernmost 48 counties. Because of California's large size and diverse geography, the state can be subdivided in other ways as well. For example, the Central Valley is a region that is distinct both culturally and topographically from coastal California, though in northern versus southern California divisions, the Sacramento Valley and most of the San Joaquin Valley are usually placed in northern California. Some observers describe three partitions of California, with north and south sections separated by Central California . The state
12862-399: The storage capacity of Trinity Lake. The dam functions to store water during dry periods and release it downstream into the northern San Joaquin Valley according to water demand. The dam generates 279 MW of power with a peaking capacity of 300 MW. The CVP has a significant amount of facilities for storing and transporting water on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley, in the foothills of
12980-442: The water. At the points where these acid streams mix with lake water, localized toxicity occurs, posing an immediate threat to aquatic life. The synergistic effects of these metals further exacerbate the environmental impact, leading to concerns about the safety of consuming fish from this water source. With a capacity of 4,552,000 acre⋅ft (5.615 km) at full pool, the lake has an elevation of 1,067 ft (325 m), and
13098-469: The west and coast, especially in the summer, creating some of the coolest summer conditions in North America. Since the first decade of the 21st century, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency as a consequence of climate change . The population of the forty-eight counties of northern California has shown a steady increase over the years. The largest percentage increase outside
13216-407: The world, including Meta , Apple , Google , and Nvidia . The Northern California Megaregion , one of the 11 megaregions of the United States is centered in Northern California, and extends from Metropolitan Fresno north to Greater Sacramento, and from the Bay Area east across the Nevada state line to encompass the entire Lake Tahoe – Reno area. Evidence of Native American habitation in
13334-521: Was being inundated: the limestone canyon behind the dam, the deepest of its kind in the United States, contained hundreds of archaeological and historic sites and one of California's best and most popular whitewater rafting runs. Thus the reservoir extended only to Parrot's Ferry Bridge, 9 mi (14 km) below its maximum upriver limit, until the El Niño event of 1982–1983, which filled it to capacity within weeks and even forced Reclamation to open
13452-455: Was devised in 1933 in order to provide irrigation and municipal water to much of California's Central Valley —by regulating and storing water in reservoirs in the northern half of the state (once considered water-rich but suffering water-scarce conditions more than half the year in most years), and transporting it to the water-poor San Joaquin Valley and its surroundings by means of a series of canals, aqueducts and pump plants, some shared with
13570-456: Was first established in 1770, and at San Francisco in 1776. In all, ten missions stretched along the coast from Sonoma to Monterey (and still more missions to the southern tip of Baja California ). In 1786, the French signaled their interest in the northern California area by sending a voyage of exploration to Monterey. The first twenty years of the 19th century continued the colonization of
13688-545: Was prevented from appearing on the 2018 California ballot because of a constitutional review by the Supreme Court of California . Since the events of the California Gold Rush , Northern California has been a leader on the world's economic, scientific, and cultural stages. From the development of gold mining techniques and logging practices in the 19th century that were later adopted around the world, to
13806-605: Was the first attempt at creating a Central Valley Project. In 1904, the Bureau of Reclamation (then the Reclamation Service) first became interested in creating such a water project, but did not get far involved until a series of droughts and related disasters occurred in the early 1920s. The State of California passed the Central Valley Project Act in 1933, which authorized Reclamation to sell revenue bonds in order to raise about $ 170 million for
13924-486: Was the world's largest water and power project when undertaken during Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal public works agenda. The Project was the culmination of eighty years of political fighting over the state's most important natural resource - Water . The Central Valley of California lies to the west of the Sierra Nevada Mountains with its annual run-off draining into the Pacific Ocean through
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