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39-605: The bay was named in 1811, after the Suisunes , a Patwin tribe of Wintun Indians. The Central Pacific Railroad built a train ferry that operated between Benicia and Port Costa, California , from 1879 to 1930. The ferry boats Solano and Contra Costa were removed from service when the nearby Martinez railroad bridge was completed in 1930. From 1913 until 1954 the Sacramento Northern Railway , an electrified interurban line, crossed Suisun Bay with

78-510: A chain of Indian battles and growing distrust. The next year in 1811, perhaps due to the loss of 125 men, a large group of Suisunes gave up the resistance and moved into Mission San Francisco de Asís in present-day San Francisco. A total of 326 Suisunes were baptized at this mission between 1810 and 1816. In 1817, Jose DeArguello , the commandant of the Presidio of San Francisco sent his lieutenant Jose Sanchez to lead another attack against

117-663: A child in Moraga's raid of 1810 or his family brought him within two months of the battle. In 1823, Sem-Yeto and the Suisun people at Mission San Francisco moved into the new mission in the town of Sonoma, California , the Mission San Francisco de Solano , to help build and populate this final Franciscan mission built north of the San Francisco Bay. In 1834, General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo of Sonoma, as

156-579: A rain-snow mix every few years, but, on the average, only snows about every 5 years. Farther south in Sacramento, snow rarely occurs. During the autumn and winter months, the entire Central Valley is susceptible to dense tule fog that makes driving hazardous, especially at night and especially south of Corning. The fog can last for weeks depending on how weak the wind is. In more recent years, statewide droughts in California have further strained both

195-586: A smallpox epidemic decimated the native population of the Sonoma region, as well as from other diseases brought in from the Spaniards as well as the Russians at Fort Ross . Chief Solano was one of the few natives to receive a vaccination. Chief Solano was also one of a handful of natives to receive a land grant in the mission secularization and parcelling out of Mexican-American lands. The Suisunes who survived

234-691: Is also the route of Amtrak 's Coast Starlight passenger train. The Union Pacific also has two east–west lines, through Donner Pass (the former Central Pacific Railroad ), and through the Feather River gorge (the former Western Pacific Railroad ). Amtrak's California Zephyr uses the Donner Pass route. The BNSF Railway has a line from Klamath Falls, Oregon , to a junction with the Union Pacific Feather River line at Keddie . The BNSF has trackage rights on both

273-522: Is located today. Father Abella, visitor to the tribe in 1811, indicated they resided in the present location of Fairfield , north of the Suisun Bay. One of the Suisunes' primary food sources was acorns . Their diet also included fish as well as miner's lettuce . Their huts (as recorded by the Spaniards in 1817) were conical wikiups made of rushes or tule thatch. The Suisunes were one tribe of

312-666: The Donner Pass ; State Route 49 , named in honor of the California Gold Rush and running through many old mining towns in the foothills of the valley; and State Route 45 , which runs along the course of the Sacramento River roughly ten miles (20 km) east of I-5. The Union Pacific Railroad serves the valley, with its principal north–south line from Oakland , California to Portland, Oregon , via Sacramento , Marysville , Chico , and Redding. This

351-629: The Patwin Indians, who were the southern branch of the Wintun group, who had lived in the region for up to 4000 years. Few records have been handed down; approximately 2500-5000 Patwins existed in all. By 1800, Spain had taken control of most of the Bay Area, having erected seven missions in the Ohlone region south and west of the Suisunes' region. The closest mission to the Suisunes was across

390-719: The Pomo Indians of Cainama in the region toward Santa Rosa)", who were attempting to throw off Mexican domination. Chief Solano eventually helped to secure peace between the region's Native Americans and the Mexicans. A peace treaty was signed in 1836. With the alliance with General Vallejo, the tribe was relatively powerful. On a political venture, Vallejo even arranged for and sent Chief Solano and 100 warrior Suisunes to travel down to Monterey, California to impress and seek military support from Juan Bautista Alvarado , governor of Alta California (1836–1837, 1838–1842). In 1837,

429-452: The Ramon , a distillate-powered train ferry . On April 28, 2004, a petroleum pipeline operated by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners ruptured, initially reported as spilling 1,500 barrels (264m³) of diesel fuel in the marshes, but, this was later updated to about 2,950 barrels. Kinder Morgan pleaded guilty to operating a corroded pipeline (and cited for failing to notify authorities quickly after

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468-774: The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the Sacramento River . It encompasses all or parts of ten Northern California counties. Although many areas of the Sacramento Valley are rural, it contains several urban areas, including the state capital, Sacramento . Comparatively water-rich relative to the other segment of the Central Valley to the south, the San Joaquin Valley , there are slight differences in

507-603: The San Francisco Bay , Mission San Francisco de Asís . Franciscan missionaries wanted to bring all tribes into the Spanish-controlled missions , pueblos and presidios , however the Spanish had not yet reached north of the present-day Carquinez Strait to the Suisunes. The Suisunes lived sufficiently far away from the first missions to rebel from the incoming Spaniards, and over time they joined with

546-622: The heat index above 115 °F (46 °C) on the hottest days. At times the Breeze is gusty with wind speeds up to 30 mph (50 km/h) in the valley and 45 mph (75 km/h) in the windy delta region . This Breeze can also bring morning low clouds at times into the region, but the clouds generally burn off quickly and temperatures stay cool. Summer-like conditions continue into early to mid-September but weather starts to change to cooler, wetter, foggier weather during October which gives trees vibrant autumn foliage. Winters, also known as

585-403: The valley , they provide water for agricultural, industrial, residential, and recreation uses. Most of the rivers are heavily dammed and diverted. In more recent years, statewide droughts in California have further strained the Sacramento Valley's water security . The terrain of the Sacramento Valley is primarily flat grasslands that become lusher as one moves east from the rain shadow of

624-549: The Central Valley. The Sacramento Valley's agricultural industry also resembles that of the San Joaquin Valley to the south. Nuts, such as almonds and walnuts , are of greater importance north of the Delta, and rice , nonviable in the drier San Joaquin Valley, is a major crop. While the region is wetter, soils are somewhat poorer in the Sacramento Valley; this means some crops, particularly vegetables, are less profitable compared to

663-616: The Coast Ranges toward the Sierra. Unlike the San Joaquin Valley, which in its pre-irrigation state was a vegetation-hostile desert, the somewhat less arid Sacramento Valley had significant tracts of forest prior to the arrival of settlers of European ancestry. Most of it was cut down during the California Gold Rush and the ensuing wave of American settlement, although there are still some heavily tree-populated areas, such as

702-685: The Cottonwood Ridge between Anderson and Cottonwood. There are some hills in Redding, a few more than Red Bluff, and north of Redding it is mainly foothills. One distinctive geographic feature of the Sacramento Valley is the Sutter Buttes . Nicknamed the smallest mountain range in the world, it consists of the remnants of an extinct volcano and is located just outside Yuba City , 44 miles north of Sacramento. Citrus and nut orchards and cattle ranches are common to both halves of

741-403: The Sacramento Valley's and the Sacramento metropolitan region's water security . The Sacramento River and its tributaries are a significant part of the geography of the Sacramento Valley. Rising in the various mountain ranges (the various Northern Coast Ranges to the west, the southern Siskiyou Mountains to the north, and the northern Sierra Nevada to the east) that define the shape of

780-514: The Sacramento Valley's and the San Joaquin Valley's water security . Interstate 5 is the primary route through the Sacramento Valley, traveling north–south roughly along the valley's western edge. Interstate 80 cuts a northeast-to-southwest swath through the southern end of the valley, mostly through Sacramento and Yolo Counties, and ends at the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge . Several secondary routes connect

819-481: The San Joaquin Valley. The Sacramento Valley is also not as extensively cultivated; there are many more smallholdings and more uncultivated arable land compared to south of the Delta. The town of Corning produces olives for oil extraction and for consumption as fruit. The Sunsweet Growers Incorporated headquarters are in Yuba City . The valley controls more than two-thirds of the worldwide prune market through

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858-589: The Suisun and the " People of the West Wind ") were a Patwin tribe of Wintun people, originating in the Suisun Bay and Suisun Marsh regions of Solano County in Northern California . Their traditional homelands stretched between what is now Suisun City , Vacaville and Putah Creek around 200 years ago. The Suisunes' main village, Yulyul , is believed to be where Rockville, California

897-421: The Suisun tribe, believed to have taken place in the hills behind Benicia . The Spaniards subsequently gained ground in present-day Fairfield and Suisun City today, reaching the Suisun village of Chief Malica , sachem of the tribe. At this village, probably with imminent defeat of his people, Chief Malica and the majority of the tribe chose to end their lives in a tragic mass suicide. The Spaniards witnessed

936-732: The United States, with temperatures often matching and even exceeding that of Phoenix, Arizona in its hottest years; the city's annual high temperature averages at 112 °F (44 °C). In the summer, the "Delta Breeze", which comes in from the San Francisco Bay Area , is known for bringing cooler temperatures and higher humidity to the southern parts of the valley. While it brings comparative relief for residents of Sacramento and Roseville, it often results in somewhat muggy conditions, with dew points sometimes reaching above 70 °F (21 °C) and occasionally pushing

975-573: The comandante of the new pueblo projects in the region, became a very valuable patron and friend to Chief Solano, and formed an alliance with the Suisunes. The mission system was closing down. Chief Solano and the Suisunes led many expeditions with the object of quelling the other tribes of the region, particularly "the Wappo , the Satisyomis (aka Sotoyomes, a Wappo tribe) and the Cainameros (aka

1014-444: The crops are typically grown in the Sacramento Valley. Much wetter winters (averaging between 25–60 inches (640–1,520 mm) of annual precipitation in the nearby foothills) and an extensive system of irrigation canals allows for the economic viability of water-thirsty crops such as rice and Juglans hindsii -rootstock walnuts. Since 2010, statewide droughts in California (combined with unprecedented summer heat) have strained both

1053-572: The epidemic began to earn their livelihoods through farm labor or fishing. Some chose to work as seasonal or year-round ranch labors for Vallejo at the Rancho Petaluma Adobe or other area ranches. In 1846, at the end of the Bear Flag Revolt when California was ceded to the United States, General Vallejo was taken prisoner by Americans at Sutter's Fort , Sem-Yeto fled north, and the people continued to earn their living on

1092-655: The greater Sacramento area. Foothills become more common from just south of Corning to Shasta Lake City . These are known as the Valley Hills and begin south of the Tehama-Glenn County line near Corning. There are also a few hills in Red Bluff and Corning. There is one major range of foothills between Cottonwood and Red Bluff known as the Cottonwood Hills (a.k.a. 9-mile Hill), and there is

1131-618: The mid-1970s (see Project Azorian ). Many ships were removed and sold for scrap in the 1990s. In 2010, plans were announced to remove the oldest remaining parts of the Suisun Bay mothball fleet in stages. The last of the 57 ships in the old Mothball Fleet were removed in August 2017. There are still a number of naval ships in Suisun Bay. Most are part of the Military Sealift Command Ready Reserve Fleet . Suisunes The Suisunes (also called

1170-539: The next in line to be the chief of the next generation of Suisunes. Sem-Yeto was described as tall, 6 feet 7 inches, handsome and brave. Sem-Yeto was baptized in the San Francisco Mission in July 1810 at roughly age 10 with the name "Francisco Solano" and lived there until adulthood. He became known as Chief Solano . His baptism took place 2 months after the tragedy of 1810. Sem-Yeto was possibly captured as

1209-660: The northern part of the valley and colder still in the foothills and frost can occur almost anywhere. Farther south near Sacramento, temperatures tend to stay between the low-50s and high-60s °F (10-20 °C), with nighttime temperatures dropping to the mid-30s and 40s °F (1-7 °C). Lower-elevation snowfall (in a relative sense) is more consistent in the foothills immediately above Sacramento and Folsom than anywhere else in California; Pollock Pines at 3,980 feet (1,210 m), gets an average of 65 inches (170 cm) of snow every winter, nearly double that of Yosemite Valley and more than triple that of Lucerne , Switzerland. During

Suisun Bay - Misplaced Pages Continue

1248-493: The other Patwin tribes in the central valley region to resist the incursion on their lands and maintain their freedom. They acquired horses from mission runaways and mission outposts. The Suisunes might have avoided contact for several more decades with the missionaries, however in the early 19th century, Indian runaways from the missions began to seek shelter with the Suisunes. The missions would send Mission Indians to round up "Christian" runaways. The interaction set in motion

1287-614: The over 400 growers in California. Weather patterns in the Sacramento Valley are very similar to those in the San Joaquin Valley to the south, although the humidity and precipitation tend to be a bit higher. Summers are the dry season, with average daytime temperatures in the low to high 90s °F (low to mid 30s °C) but triple digits (38 °C and above) are a common occurrence, especially in Chico , Redding , Red Bluff , and Sacramento . Redding in particular has been notorious for having extremely hot summers despite its northern latitude within

1326-487: The rainy season, are generally mild to cool, foggy and wet. The valley and lower foothills are completely snowless outside of exceptional years where some flurries may occur. The rainy season runs from November to early-April, with some rainfall in September, October, and May. Up north, the temperature averages in the mid-40s °F (mid-to-high single digits °C) and lows reaching to the low-10s °F (-10 to -12 °C), colder in

1365-497: The rainy season, the Sacramento Valley is prone to strong thunderstorms and tornadoes , mostly of EF0 or EF1 intensity, especially in Colusa County and areas around Corning and Orland. Flooding does occur at times during wetter periods, usually November to March. Snow in the valley is rare, although Redding and Red Bluff , being at the north end of the valley, often experience a light dusting or two per year. Chico may get

1404-484: The ranches of California. Solano County is named after Chief (Sem-Yeto) Francisco Solano. Suisun Marsh and Suisun Bay are named after the Suisun tribe. Suisun City is named after the Suisun tribe as well as the marsh. Sacramento Valley The Sacramento Valley ( Spanish : Valle de Sacramento ) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies north of

1443-554: The spill was discovered) and paid three million dollars in penalties and restitution. The bay was the anchorage of the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet , a part of the US Navy Mothball or Ghost Fleet, a collection of U.S. Navy and merchant reserve ships which was created in the period following World War II . The USNS Glomar Explorer was anchored here after recovering parts of a sunken Soviet submarine in

1482-495: The two roads, including Interstate 505 and State Route 113 . The Sacramento area has a web of urban freeways. Other principal routes in the region include State Route 99 , which runs along the valley's eastern edge, roughly parallel to I-5, from Sacramento until its northern terminus in Red Bluff ; State Route 20 , which traverses the valley from west to east on its route from State Route 1 in Mendocino County to

1521-482: The village's brushy huts burst into flames. The chief chanting and singing, leapt into the flames, followed by the people of the village, including the women with children and babies. The Spaniards tried to save some while several Indians fled into the hills. The remaining tribe survived in the hills or through assimilation, reemerging under the leadership of Chief Sem-Yeto , also known as Chief Solano . Sem-Yeto (later known as Chief Solano) , born about 1800, emerged as

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