California Central Valley
Encyclopedia
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is home to California's most productive agricultural efforts. The valley stretches approximately 450 miles (724.2 km) from northwest to southeast inland and parallel to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
coast. Its northern half is referred to as the Sacramento Valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
, and its southern half as the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
. The Sacramento valley receives about 20 inches of rain annually, but the San Joaquin is very dry, often semi-arid desert in many places.
The two halves meet at the huge Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, which along with their tributaries drain the majority of the valley. The Delta is a large expanse of interconnected canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
s, streambeds
Stream bed
A stream bed is the channel bottom of a stream, river or creek; the physical confine of the normal water flow. The lateral confines or channel margins, during all but flood stage, are known as the stream banks or river banks. In fact, a flood occurs when a stream overflows its banks and flows onto...
, sloughs, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es and peat islands. The Central Valley covers an area of approximately 22500 mi2, making it slightly smaller than the state of West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
.
Boundaries and population
The Central Valley is 40 to 60 mi (64.4 to 96.6 km) wide, the Sierra Nevada to the east and the Coast RangesCoast Ranges (California)
The Coast Ranges of California constitute one of the eleven traditional geomorphic provinces of California. They include several but not all mountain ranges along the California coast...
and San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
to the west, as far south as the Tehachapi Mountains
Tehachapi Mountains
The Tehachapi Mountains , regionally also called The Tehachapis, are a mountain range in the Transverse Ranges system of California in the Western United States...
. The valley is a vast agricultural region drained by the Sacramento
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
and San Joaquin
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
rivers.
Counties commonly associated with the valley:
- North Sacramento Valley (ShastaShasta County, CaliforniaShasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...
, TehamaTehama County, CaliforniaTehama County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California. It is bisected by the Sacramento River. As of 2010 its population was 63,463, up from 56,039 as of 2000. The county seat is Red Bluff.-History:...
, GlennGlenn County, CaliforniaGlenn County is in the California Central Valley. As of 2010, it had a population of 28,122. The county seat is the city of Willows.-History:Glenn County was formed in 1891 from parts of Colusa County. It was named for Dr. Hugh J...
, ButteButte County, CaliforniaButte County is a county located in the Central Valley of the US state of California, north of the state capital of Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 220,000. The county seat is Oroville. Butte County is the "Land of Natural Wealth and Beauty."Butte County is watered by the...
, ColusaColusa County, CaliforniaColusa County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, northwest of state capital Sacramento. As of the 2010 census, its population was 21,419. The county seat is Colusa.-History:...
) - Sacramento Metro (SacramentoSacramento County, CaliforniaSacramento County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Sacramento, which is also the state capital. As of 2010 the county had a population of 1,418,788....
, El DoradoEl Dorado County, CaliforniaEl Dorado County is a county located in the historic Gold Country in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and foothills of the U.S. state of California. The 2010 population was 181,058. The El Dorado county seat is in Placerville....
, SutterSutter County, CaliforniaSutter County is a county located along the Sacramento River in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of state capital Sacramento. Sutter County is part of the Greater Sacramento CSA....
, YubaYuba County, CaliforniaYuba County is a county located in the U.S. state of California's Central Valley, north of Sacramento, along the Feather River. As of the 2010 census, its population was 72,155. The county seat is Marysville. Yuba County is part of the Greater Sacramento area.-History:Yuba County was one of the...
, YoloYolo County, CaliforniaYolo County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, bordered by the other counties of Sacramento, Solano, Napa, Lake, Colusa, and Sutter. The city of Woodland is its county seat, though Davis is its largest city....
, PlacerPlacer County, CaliforniaPlacer County is a county located in both the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada regions of the U.S. state of California, in what is known as the Gold Country. It stretches from the suburbs of Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and the Nevada border. Because of the expansion of the Greater Sacramento,...
) - North San Joaquin (San JoaquinSan Joaquin County, CaliforniaSan Joaquin County is a county located in Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, just east of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census, the population was 685,306. The county seat is Stockton.-History:...
, StanislausStanislaus County, CaliforniaStanislaus County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. As the price of housing has increased in the San Francisco Bay Area, many people who work in the southern reaches of the Bay Area have opted for the longer commute and moved to Stanislaus County for the...
, MercedMerced County, CaliforniaMerced County , is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, north of Fresno and southeast of San Jose. As of the 2010 census, the population was 255,793, up from 210,554 at the 2000 census. The county seat is Merced...
) - South San Joaquin (MaderaMadera County, CaliforniaMadera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865...
, FresnoFresno County, CaliforniaFresno County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Stockton and north of Bakersfield. As of the 2010 census, it is the tenth most populous county in California with a population of 930,450, and the sixth largest in size with an area of . The county...
, KingsKings County, CaliforniaKings County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. It is located in a rich agricultural region. Kings County is also home to NAS Lemoore, which is the U.S. Navy's newest and largest master jet air station. The county seat is Hanford...
, TulareTulare County, CaliforniaTulare County is a county located in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California, south of Fresno. Sequoia National Park is located in the county, as are part of Kings Canyon National Park, in its northeast corner , and part of Mount Whitney, on its eastern border...
, KernKern County, CaliforniaSpreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...
)
About 6.5 million people live in the Central Valley today, and it is the fastest growing region in California.
There are 10 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the Central Valley. Below, they are listed by (MSA) population. The largest city is Fresno
Fresno, California
Fresno is a city in central California, United States, the county seat of Fresno County. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 510,365, making it the fifth largest city in California, the largest inland city in California, and the 34th largest in the nation...
, followed by the state capital Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
.
- Sacramento Metropolitan Area (2,136,604)
- Fresno Metropolitan Area (1,002,284)
- Bakersfield Metropolitan Area (827,173)
- Stockton Metropolitan Area (664,116)
- Modesto MetropolitanModesto, CaliforniaModesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
(505,505) - Visalia Metropolitan Area (410,874)
- Merced Metropolitan Area (241,706)
- Chico Metropolitan AreaChico, CaliforniaChico is the most populous city in Butte County, California, United States. The population was 86,187 at the 2010 census, up from 59,954 at the time of the 2000 census...
(214,185) - Redding Metropolitan AreaRedding, CaliforniaRedding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
(179,904) - Yuba City Metropolitan Area (165,081)
Geology
The flatness of the valley floor contrasts with the rugged hills or gentle mountains that are typical of most of California's terrain. The valley is thought to have originated below sea level as an offshore area depressed by subductionSubduction
In geology, subduction is the process that takes place at convergent boundaries by which one tectonic plate moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the Earth's mantle, as the plates converge. These 3D regions of mantle downwellings are known as "Subduction Zones"...
of the Farallon Plate
Farallon Plate
The Farallon Plate was an ancient oceanic plate, which began subducting under the west coast of the North American Plate— then located in modern Utah— as Pangaea broke apart during the Jurassic Period...
into a trench further offshore. The San Joaquin Fault
San Joaquin Fault
The San Joaquin Fault is a seismically active geological structure in the California Central Valley. East of the San Joaquin fault there is a flow pattern of alluvium that has been reported to be a mud flow...
is a notable seismic feature of the Central Valley.
The valley was later enclosed by the uplift of the Coast Ranges, with its original outlet into Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
. Faulting moved the Coast Ranges, and a new outlet developed near what is now San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. Over the millennia, the valley was filled by the sediments of these same ranges, as well as the rising Sierra Nevada to the east; that filling eventually created an extraordinary flatness just barely above sea level; before California's massive flood control and aqueduct system was built, the annual snow melt turned much of the valley into an inland sea.
The one notable exception to the flat valley floor is Sutter Buttes
Sutter Buttes
The Sutter Buttes are a small circular complex of eroded volcanic lava domes which rise as buttes above the flat plains of the Central Valley of California in the United States. The highest peak, South Butte, reaches about above sea level. The Buttes are located just outside of Yuba City,...
, the remnants of an extinct volcano just to the northwest of Yuba City which is 44 miles (70.8 km) north of Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
.
Another significant geologic feature of the Central Valley lies hidden beneath the delta. The Stockton Arch
Stockton Arch
The Stockton Arch is a geologic feature underlying the Central Valley in California in the vicinity of the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, near the city of Stockton...
is an upwarping of the crust beneath the valley sediments which extends southwest to northeast across the valley.
Physiographically, the Central Valley lies within the California Trough physiographic section, which is part of the larger Pacific Border province, which in turn is part of the Pacific Mountain System.
Environment
The 'Central Valley Grassland' is the NearcticNearctic
The Nearctic is one of the eight terrestrial ecozones dividing the Earth's land surface.The Nearctic ecozone covers most of North America, including Greenland and the highlands of Mexico...
temperate and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
which was once a diverse grassland containing areas of desert grassland (at the southern end), prairie, savanna, riverside woodland, marsh, several types of seasonal vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
, large lakes such as now-dry Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake, named Laguna de Tache by the Spanish, is a fresh-water dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in southern San Joaquin Valley, California...
, the largest lake in the United States west of the Mississippi, and Kern Lake
Kern Lake, California
Kern Lake is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located in the bed of dry Kern Lake east-southeast of Millux, at an elevation of 282 feet ....
. However much of the Central Valley environment has been removed or altered by human activity including the introduction of exotic plants, especially grasses. The oak woodlands and chapparal that fringe the valley have been categorised as the California interior chaparral and woodlands
California interior chaparral and woodlands
The California interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion covers in an elliptical ring around the California Central Valley. It occurs on hills and mountains ranging from to . It is part of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, with cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers...
ecoregion.
The wetlands have been the target of rescue operations to restore areas nearly destroyed by agriculture.
Flora
The dominant grass of the valley was Nassella pulchraNassella pulchra
Nassella pulchra is a species of grass known by the common name purple needlegrass. It is native to California, where it occurs throughout the coastal hills, valleys, and mountain ranges, as well as the Sacramento Valley and parts of the Sierra Nevada foothills, and Baja California.It grows in many...
mixed with other species, but today only 1% of the grassland in the valley is original and intact. Grassland flowers include California poppy
California poppy
The California poppy is a perennial and annual plant, native to the United States, and the official state flower of California.- Description :...
(Eschscholzia californica), lupin
Lupin
Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins or lupines , is a genus in the legume family . The genus comprises about 280 species , with major centers of diversity in South and western North America , and the Andes and secondary centers in the Mediterranean region and Africa Lupinus, commonly known as Lupins...
s, and Purple Owl's Clover (Castilleja exserta
Castilleja exserta
Castilleja exserta is a species of plant in the genus which includes the Indian paintbrushes. Its common names include purple owl's clover, escobita, and exserted Indian paintbrush....
) which can still be seen, especially in Antelope Valley
Antelope Valley
The Antelope Valley in California, United States, is located in northern Los Angeles County and the southeastern portion of Kern County, California, and constitutes the western tip of the Mojave Desert...
in the Tehachapi hills. Riverside trees include willows, western sycamore (Platanus racemosa), box elder (Acer negundo
Acer negundo
Acer negundo is a species of maple native to North America. Box Elder, Boxelder Maple, and Maple Ash are its most common names in the United States...
), Fremont cottonwood (Populus fremontii
Populus fremontii
Populus fremontii, the Fremont cottonwood or Alamo cottonwood, is a cottonwood poplar native to western North America, in California and east to Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, and south into Sonora in northwestern Mexico...
), and the endemic Valley oak (Quercus lobata).
Fauna
The Central Valley was once home to large populations of pronghornPronghorn
The pronghorn is a species of artiodactyl mammal endemic to interior western and central North America. Though not an antelope, it is often known colloquially in North America as the prong buck, pronghorn antelope, or simply antelope, as it closely resembles the true antelopes of the Old World and...
antelope (Antilocapra americana), elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
including the endemic Tule Elk
Tule Elk
The tule elk is a subspecies of elk found only in California, ranging from the grasslands and marshlands of the Central Valley to the grassy hills on the coast. The subspecies name derives from the tule that it feeds off of, which grows in the marshlands...
subspecies (Cervus elaphus nannodes), mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
(Odocoileus hemionus), California ground squirrel
California Ground Squirrel
The California ground squirrel , is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and its range has relatively recently extended into Washington and northwestern Nevada...
s, gopher
Gopher (animal)
The term gopher as it is commonly used does not relate to any one species, but is a generic term used to describe any of several small burrowing rodents endemic to North America, including the pocket gopher , also called true gophers, and the ground squirrel , including Richardson's ground squirrel...
s, mice, hare, rabbits and kangaroo rat
Kangaroo rat
Kangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. The common name derives from their bipedal form: as they hop in a manner similar to the much larger kangaroo, although they are not related...
s, along with their predators including the San Joaquin Kit Fox
Kit Fox
The kit fox is a fox species of North America. Its range is primarily in the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. Some mammalogists classify it as conspecific with the swift fox, V. velox, but molecular systematics imply that the two species are distinct.-Range:The...
which is now an endangered subspecies surviving on the hillsides of the San Joaquin Valley. The wetlands of the Valley were an important habitat for wintering waterbirds and migrating birds of other kinds. Reptiles and amphibians of the valley include the endemic San Joaquin coachwhip snake (Masticophis flagellum
Masticophis flagellum
Masticophis flagellum is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snakes commonly referred to as coachwhips or whip snakes, with seven recognized subspecies.- Geographical range :...
ruddocki), blunt-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia sila), Gilbert's skink
Gilbert's Skink
Gilbert's Skink is a heavy-bodied medium-sized lizard of the family of skinks living in the south-western United States. It grows to about 7 to 12 cm total length.- Taxonomy :...
(Eumeces gilberti) and the western aquatic garter snake
Garter snake
The Garter snake is a Colubrid snake genus common across North America, ranging from Alaska and Canada to Central America. It is the single most widely distributed genus of reptile in North America. The garter snake is also the Massachusettsstate reptile.There is no real consensus on the...
(Thamnophis couchii). There are also a number of endemic invertebrates.
Threats and preservation
Agriculture, especially the creation of grazing land, and the draining of lakes and rivers have radically altered the habitats of the Valley. Most of the grassland has been overtaken by new species, most of the vernal pools have been drained or otherwise destroyed with only those on the higher slopes remaining, the marshland has mostly been drained too, and the riverbank woodlands have nearly all been affected.The Great Valley Grasslands State Park
Great Valley Grasslands State Park
The Great Valley Grasslands State Park, in central Northern California-U.S., preserves one of few intact original remnants of the formerly extensive and predominant native grasslands on the floor of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, in the California State Park system of protected areas...
preserves an example of the native grass habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
in the valley, while oak savanna habitats remain near Visalia
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
. There are areas of wetland and riverside woodland in the north especially on the Sacramento River system including the Nature Conservancy’s Cosumnes River Preserve
Cosumnes River Preserve
The Cosumnes River Preserve is a nature preserve of located 20 miles south of Sacramento, in the US state of California. The preserve protects a Central Valley remnant that once contained one of the largest expanses of oak tree savanna, riparian oak forest and wetland habitat in North America...
just south of Sacramento, Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area
Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area
Butte Sink Wildlife Management Area has the highest concentration of waterfowl per acre in the world. Located in the Sacramento Valley of California, it includes the Butte Sink National Wildlife Refuge and conservation easements acquired on adjacent private lands...
, and other patches in the delta area. Remaining vernal pools include Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
Pixley National Wildlife Refuge
Pixley National Wildlife Refuge is located south of Tulare, California and north of Bakersfield in the San Joaquin Valley. The nature refuge represents one of the few remaining examples of the grasslands, vernal pools, and playas that once bordered historic Tulare Lake, the largest lake west of...
between Tulare, California
Tulare, California
Tulare is a city in Tulare County, California, United States. The population was 59,278 at the 2010 census.Just eight miles south of Visalia, it is part of the Census Bureau's designation of the Visalia Metropolitan Area. The city is named for the currently dry Tulare Lake, once the largest...
and Bakersfield and Jepson Prairie Preserve in the delta. There are large blocks of desert scrubland in the southern San Joaquin Valley and in the Carrizo Plain
Carrizo Plain
The Carrizo Plain is a large enclosed plain, approximately 50 miles long and up to 15 miles across, in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California, about 100 miles northwest of Los Angeles, California...
which is just outside the valley but has a similar landscape.
All these paches of natural habitat are disconnected and this is particularly damaging for wildlife that is used to migrating along the rivers of the valley, birds such as warblers and cuckoos, and reptiles and amphibians. Meanwhile clearance and alteration are ongoing.
Climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
(Koppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Csa); the more southerly parts in rainshadow zones are dry enough to be Mediterranean steppe (BShs, as around Fresno
Fresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
) or even low-latitude desert (BWh, as in areas around Bakersfield). It is hot and dry during the summer and cool and damp in winter, when frequent ground fog known regionally as "tule fog
Tule fog
Tule fog is a thick ground fog that settles in the San Joaquin Valley and Sacramento Valley areas of California's Great Central Valley. Tule fog forms during the late fall and winter after the first significant rainfall. The official time frame for tule fog to form is from November 1 to March 31...
" can obscure vision. Summer daytime temperatures reach 90 °F (32.2 °C), and occasional heat wave
Heat wave
A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather, which may be accompanied by high humidity. There is no universal definition of a heat wave; the term is relative to the usual weather in the area...
s might bring temperatures exceeding 115 °F (46.1 °C). Mid Autumn to mid spring comprises the rainy season — although during the late summer, southeasterly winds aloft can bring thunderstorms of tropical origin, mainly in the southern half of the San Joaquin Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
but occasionally to the Sacramento Valley
Sacramento Valley
The Sacramento Valley is the portion of the California Central Valley that lies to the north of the San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses all or parts of ten counties.-Geography:...
. The northern half of the Central Valley receives greater precipitation than the semidesert southern half. Frost occurs at times in the winter months, but snow is extremely rare.
Tule fog
Tule fog (icon) is a thick ground fogFog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
that settles along the length of the Great Central Valley. Tule fog forms during the late fall and winter
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...
(California's rainy season) after the first significant rainfall. The official time frame for tule fog to form is from November 1 to March 31. This phenomenon is named after the tule grass
Tule
Schoenoplectus acutus , called tule , common tule, hardstem tule, tule rush, hardstem bulrush, or viscid bulrush, is a giant species of sedge in the plant family Cyperaceae, native to freshwater marshes all over North America...
wetlands (tulares) of the Central Valley. Accidents caused by the tule fog are the leading cause of weather-related casualties in California.
Hydrography
Two major river systems drain and define the two parts of the Central Valley. The Sacramento RiverSacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, along with its tributaries the Feather River
Feather River
The Feather River is the principal tributary of the Sacramento River, in the Sacramento Valley of Northern California. The river's main stem is about long. Its length to its most distant headwater tributary is about . Its drainage basin is about...
and American River
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
, flows southwards through the Sacramento Valley for about 447 miles (719.4 km). In the San Joaquin Valley, the San Joaquin River
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...
flows roughly northwest for 365 miles (587.4 km), picking up tributaries such as the Merced River
Merced River
The Merced River , in the central part of the U.S. state of California, is a -long tributary of the San Joaquin River flowing from the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. It is most well known for its swift and steep course through the southern part of Yosemite National Park, and the...
, Tuolumne River
Tuolumne River
The Tuolumne River is a California river that flows nearly from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley...
, Stanislaus River
Stanislaus River
The Stanislaus River in California is one of the largest tributaries of the San Joaquin River. The river is long and has north, middle and south forks...
and Mokelumne River
Mokelumne River
The Mokelumne River is a river in Northern California. The Upper Mokelumne River originates in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and flows into Pardee Reservoir and then Camanche Reservoir in the Sierra foothills. The Lower Mokelumne River refers to the portion of the river below Camanche Dam...
.
In the south part of the San Joaquin Valley, the alluvial fan
Alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped deposit formed where a fast flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain. A convergence of neighboring alluvial fans into a single apron of deposits against a slope is called a bajada, or compound alluvial...
of the Kings River
Kings River (California)
The Kings River is a major river of south-central California. About long, it drains an area of the high western Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. A large alluvial fan has formed where the river's gradient decreases in the Central Valley so the river divides into distributaries...
and another one from Coast Ranges streams have created a divide and resultantly the currently dry Tulare basin of the Central Valley, into which flow four Sierra Nevada rivers including the Kings. This basin, usually endorheic
Endorheic
An endorheic basin is a closed drainage basin that retains water and allows no outflow to other bodies of water such as rivers or oceans...
, formerly filled during heavy snowmelt and spilled out into the San Joaquin River. Called Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake
Tulare Lake, named Laguna de Tache by the Spanish, is a fresh-water dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in southern San Joaquin Valley, California...
, it is usually dry nowadays because the rivers feeding it have been diverted for agricultural purposes.
The rivers of the Central Valley converge in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a complex network of marshy channels, distributaries and sloughs that wind around islands mainly used for agriculture. Here the freshwater of the rivers merges with tidewater, and eventually reach the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
after passing through Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay
Suisun Bay is a shallow tidal estuary at in northern California, USA. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers, forming the entrance to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, an inverted river delta...
, San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in northern California in the United States. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water channel approximately in mid bay, which allows access to Sacramento, Stockton, Benicia, Martinez, and...
, upper San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
and finally the Golden Gate
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
. Many of the islands now lie below sea level because of intensive agriculture, and have a high risk of flooding, which would cause salt water to rush back into the delta, especially when there is too little fresh water flowing in from the Valley.
The Sacramento River carries the vast majority of the runoff, about 24000 cuft/s, while the San Joaquin averages a comparatively mere 4500 cuft/s. Over 25 million people, living both in the valley and in other regions of the state, rely on the water carried by these rivers.
Engineering
Runoff from the Sierra Nevada and the resulting rivers that flow into San Francisco Bay provide some of the largest water resources of California. The Sacramento River is the second largest river to empty into the Pacific from the Continental United States, behind only the Columbia RiverColumbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and greater than the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
. Combined with the fertile and expansive area of the Central Valley’s floor, the Central Valley is ideal for agriculture.
Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam is an arch dam across the Sacramento River in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, at the north end of the Sacramento Valley. The dam mainly serves long-term water storage and flood control in its reservoir, Shasta Lake, and also generates hydroelectric power...
, Oroville Dam
Oroville Dam
Oroville Dam spans the Feather River about northeast of the city of Oroville, California. It forms Lake Oroville, which stores water for irrigation, flood control, municipal water supply and hydroelectricity generation in California's Sacramento Valley. The dam lies in the foothills of the Sierra...
, Folsom Dam
Folsom Dam
Folsom Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the American River in Northern California, about northeast of Sacramento. Folsom Dam is high concrete and long, flanked by earthen wing dams...
, New Melones Dam
New Melones Dam
New Melones Dam is an earth and rock filled dam across the Stanislaus River creating New Melones Lake. Situated between Calaveras and Tuolumne County, California in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Jamestown, the dam was completed in 1979 replacing the old Melones Dam.-Background:The dam was...
, Don Pedro Dam
Don Pedro Dam
The Don Pedro Dam, since 1971 also known as the Old Don Pedro Dam, was a dam across the Tuolumne River in Tuolumne County, California. The structure is currently flooded underneath Don Pedro Reservoir, which is formed by the New Don Pedro Dam....
, Friant Dam
Friant Dam
Friant Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the upper San Joaquin River in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Fresno County and Madera County near the town of Friant. The dam, completed in 1942, forms Millerton Lake and was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and operates the dam. The lake...
, Pine Flat Dam
Pine Flat Dam
Pine Flat Dam is on the Kings River in the San Joaquin Valley, near Piedra in Fresno County, California, and forms Pine Flat Lake. It is a concrete gravity dam. The dam is owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Construction of the dam began in 1949 and was completed in 1954...
and Isabella Dam
Isabella Dam
Isabella Dam is an embankment dam located about halfway down the Kern River, between the towns of Kernville and Lake Isabella in Kern County, California. Isabella Dam serves agricultural, hydroelectric, and flood control uses.-History:...
, were constructed on rivers entering the Central Valley, many part of the Central Valley Project
Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project is a Bureau of Reclamation federal water project in the U.S. state of California. It 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 water-rich northern...
. These dams have had a profound impact on the physical and ecological state of Central Valley rivers, including the loss of the chinook salmon
Chinook salmon
The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...
.
Rapid development and growth of California’s two major urban areas, the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
/Inland Empire
Inland Empire (California)
The Inland Empire is a region in Southern California. The region sits directly east of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Inland Empire most commonly is used in reference to the U.S. Census Bureau's federally-defined Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, which covers more than...
/San Diego metropolitan areas, meant that an enormous new demand was placed on local water resources that were not enough to support the population alone. The Central Valley was looked to as a water source, leading to the creation of the California State Water Project
California State Water Project
The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP , is the world's largest publicly built and operated water and power development and conveyance system. The SWP was designed and is operated by the California Department of Water Resources...
, which was contrived to transport water to parched, thirsty Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
.
Runoff from the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers is intercepted in the delta by a series of massive pumps and canals, which divert water into the California Aqueduct
California Aqueduct
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern- and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the...
that runs south along the entire length of the San Joaquin Valley. The flow of the Sacramento River is further supplemented by a tunnel from the Trinity River
Trinity River (California)
The Trinity River is the longest tributary of the Klamath River, approximately long, in northwestern California in the United States. It drains an area of the Coast Ranges, including the southern Klamath Mountains, northwest of the Sacramento Valley...
(a tributary of the Klamath River
Klamath River
The Klamath River is an American river that flows southwest through Oregon and northern California, cutting through the Cascade Range to empty into the Pacific Ocean. The river drains an extensive watershed of almost that stretches from the high desert country of the Great Basin to the temperate...
, northwest of the Sacramento Valley) near Redding
Redding, California
Redding is a city in far-Northern California. It is the county seat of Shasta County, California, USA. With a population of 89,861, according to the 2010 Census...
. Cities of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, also needing great amounts of water, built aqueducts from the Mokelumne River
Mokelumne River
The Mokelumne River is a river in Northern California. The Upper Mokelumne River originates in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and flows into Pardee Reservoir and then Camanche Reservoir in the Sierra foothills. The Lower Mokelumne River refers to the portion of the river below Camanche Dam...
and Tuolumne River
Tuolumne River
The Tuolumne River is a California river that flows nearly from the central Sierra Nevada to the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley...
that run east to west across the middle part of the Central Valley.
Flooding
Most lowlands of the Central Valley are prone to flooding, especially in the old Tulare LakeTulare Lake
Tulare Lake, named Laguna de Tache by the Spanish, is a fresh-water dry lake with residual wetlands and marshes in southern San Joaquin Valley, California...
, Buena Vista Lake, and Kern Lake beds. The Kings
Kings River (California)
The Kings River is a major river of south-central California. About long, it drains an area of the high western Sierra Nevada and the Central Valley. A large alluvial fan has formed where the river's gradient decreases in the Central Valley so the river divides into distributaries...
, Kaweah
Kaweah River
The Kaweah River in the U.S. state of California flows westward from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley. It rises in forks in the southern Sierra Nevada inside Sequoia National Park, the longest of which is the Middle Fork, about long...
, Tule
Tule River
The Tule River, also called Rio de San Pedro or Rio San Pedro, is a river in Tulare County in the U.S. state of California. The river originates in the Sierra Nevada east of Porterville and consists of three forks, North, Middle and South. The North Fork and Middle Fork meet above Springville. The...
and Kern
Kern River
The Kern River is a river in the U.S. state of California, approximately long. It drains an area of the southern Sierra Nevada mountains northeast of Bakersfield. Fed by snowmelt near Mount Whitney, the river passes through scenic canyons in the mountains and is a popular destination for...
rivers originally flowed into these seasonal lakes, which would expand each spring to flood large parts of the southern San Joaquin Valley. Due to the construction of farms, towns and infrastructure in these lakebeds while preventing them from flooding with levee systems, the risk of floods damaging properties increased greatly.
Major public works projects beginning in the 1930s sought to reduce the amount of snowmelt flooding by the building of large dams. In 2003, it was determined that Sacramento had both the least protection against and nearly the highest risk of flooding. Congress then granted a $220 million loan for upgrades in Sacramento County.
Other counties in the valley that face flooding often are Yuba, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin.
Economy
Agriculture is the primary industry in most of the Central Valley.A notable exception to the predominance of agriculture has been the Sacramento area, where the large and stable workforce of government employees helped steer the economy away from agriculture. Despite state hiring cutbacks and the closure of several military bases, Sacramento's economy has continued to expand and diversify and now more closely resembles that of the nearby San Francisco Bay Area. Primary sources of population growth are people migrating from the San Francisco Bay Area seeking lower housing costs, as well as immigration from Asia, Central America, Mexico, Ukraine and the rest of the former Soviet Union.
Agriculture
The Central Valley is one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. On less than 1 percent of the total farmland in the United States, the Central Valley produces 8 percent of the nation’s agricultural output by value: 17 billion USD in 2002. Its agricultural productivity relies on irrigation from both surface water diversions and groundwater pumping from wells. About one-sixth of the irrigated land in the U.S. is in the Central Valley.Virtually all non-tropical crops are grown in the Central Valley, which is the primary source for a number of food products throughout the United States, including tomatoes, almonds, grapes, cotton, apricots, and asparagus.
The top five counties in agricultural sales in the U.S. are in the Central Valley (2007 Data). They are Fresno County (#1 with $3.731 billion in sales), Tulare County (#2 with $3.335 billion), Kern County (#3 with $3.204), Merced County (#4 with $2.330 billion, and Monterey (#5 2.178 billion).
Early farming was concentrated close to the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, where the water table was high year round and water transport more readily available, but subsequent irrigation projects have brought many more parts of the valley into productive use. For example, the Central Valley Project
Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project is a Bureau of Reclamation federal water project in the U.S. state of California. It 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 water-rich northern...
was formed in 1935 to redistribute and store water for agricultural and municipal purposes with dams and canals. The even larger California State Water Project
California State Water Project
The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP , is the world's largest publicly built and operated water and power development and conveyance system. The SWP was designed and is operated by the California Department of Water Resources...
was formed in the 1950s and construction continued throughout the following decade.
National Farmworkers Association (NFWA)
It was in the Central Valley, especially in and around DelanoDelano, California
Delano's climate is characteristic of the San Joaquin Valley. The weather is hot and dry during the summer and cool and damp in winter. Frequent ground fog known regionally as "tule fog" can obscure vision. Record temperatures range between 115°F and 14°F...
, that farm labor leader Cesar Chavez
César Chávez
César Estrada Chávez was an American farm worker, labor leader, and civil rights activist who, with Dolores Huerta, co-founded the National Farm Workers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers ....
organized Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
grape pickers into a union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
in the 1960s, the National Farmworkers Association (NFWA), in order to improve their working conditions.
Languages
After English and Spanish, HmongHmong language
Hmong or Mong is the common name for a dialect continuum of the West Hmongic branch of the Hmong–Mien/Miao–Yao language family spoken by the Hmong people of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, northern Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos...
is the third most commonly spoken language.
San Joaquin Valley congestion
Since the 1980s, Bakersfield, FresnoFresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
, Visalia
Visalia, California
Visalia is a Central California city situated in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley, approximately southeast of San Francisco and north of Los Angeles...
, Tracy
Tracy, California
Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States and an exurb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 82,922 at the 2010 census.-History:...
and Modesto
Modesto, California
Modesto is a city in, and is the county seat of, Stanislaus County, California. With a population of approximately 201,165 at the 2010 census, Modesto ranks as the 18th largest city in the state of California....
have exploded in both area and population, as housing values along the coast increased. Many people from Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
relocated to growing San Joaquin Valley suburbs in search of more affordable housing while retaining employment outside the Valley. This has led to traffic congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
between their Valley residences and their Bay Area employment with accompanying air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
. Air pollution became a principal environmental and health concern as long ago as the 1960s, and resulted in the establishment of the California Air Resources Board
California Air Resources Board
The California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB or ARB, is the "clean air agency" in the government of California. Established in 1967 in the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, CARB is a department within the...
in 1967.
Highways and infrastructure
California State Route 99
California State Route 99 , commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 , is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley...
run, roughly parallel, north-south through the valley, meeting at its north and south ends. Interstate 80 crosses it northeast-southwest from Rocklin to Vacaville.
In addition to highways, the California Aqueduct
California Aqueduct
The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern- and Central California to Southern California. The Department of Water Resources operates and maintains the...
follows I-5 from Tracy on southwards to Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
across the Transverse Ranges
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
and the federal Central Valley Project
Central Valley Project
The Central Valley Project is a Bureau of Reclamation federal water project in the U.S. state of California. It 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 water-rich northern...
includes numerous facilities between Shasta Dam and the Grapevine. PG&E's and Western Area Power Administration
Western Area Power Administration
The Western Area Power Administration markets and delivers hydroelectric power and related services within a 15-state region of the central and western U.S. It is one of four power marketing administrations within the U.S...
's system of three 500 kV wires (Path 15
Path 15
Path 15 is an portion of the north-south power transmission corridor in California, U.S. It forms a part of the Pacific AC Intertie and the California-Oregon Transmission Project....
and Path 66
Path 66
Path 66 is the name of several 500 kV power lines that were built by Western Area Power Administration , Pacific Gas & Electric , and PacifiCorp in the early 1970s to 1990s and totally completed in 1993...
) run through the valley. Path 26
Path 26
Path 26 is a set of three Southern California Edison 500 kV power lines, located primarily in Los Angeles County, and extending into Kern and Ventura Counties, all in California...
also runs in the southernmost part of the San Joaquin Valley and is used to transfer power from PG&E service territory to Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison , the largest subsidiary of Edison International , is the primary electricity supply company for much of Southern California, USA. It provides 14 million people with electricity...
territory on hot summer days.
BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway) and Union Pacific Railroad
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
both have railway lines in the Central Valley. The BNSF Bakersfield Subdivision runs from Bakersfield to Calwa, four miles (6 km) south of Fresno
Fresno
Fresno is the fifth largest city in California.Fresno may also refer to:-Places:Colombia* Fresno, TolimaSpain* Fresno, a ghost village in Nidáliga, Valle de Sedano, Burgos* Aldea del Fresno, Madrid* Fresno de la Vega, Ribera del Esla, León...
. From Calwa the BNSF Stockton Subdivision continues to Port Chicago
Port Chicago, California
Port Chicago was a town on the southern banks of Suisun Bay, in Contra Costa County, California. It was located east-northeast of Martinez, at an elevation of 13 feet...
, west of Antioch. The Union Pacific Railroad Martinez Subdivision runs from Port Chicago through Martinez, Richmond
Richmond, California
Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was incorporated on August 7, 1905. It is located in the East Bay, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a residential inner suburb of San Francisco, as well as the site of heavy industry, which has been...
and Emeryville to Oakland. The UP's Fresno Subdivision runs from Stockton
Stockton, California
Stockton, California, the seat of San Joaquin County, is the fourth-largest city in the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California. With a population of 291,707 at the 2010 census, Stockton ranks as this state's 13th largest city...
to Sacramento
Sacramento
Sacramento is the capital of the state of California, in the United States of America.Sacramento may also refer to:- United States :*Sacramento County, California*Sacramento, Kentucky*Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta...
. Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
operates six daily San Joaquins
San Joaquins
The San Joaquin is a passenger train operated by Amtrak as part of the Amtrak California network in California's Central Valley. Twelve trains a day run between its southern terminus at Bakersfield and Stockton, where the route splits to Oakland or Sacramento...
trains over these lines.