San Joaquin Valley

The eight-county San Joaquin Valley is the part of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton. Much of it is rural, but it does contain the cities of Fresno, Bakersfield, Stockton, Modesto, and Visalia.

Geography

The San Joaquin Valley extends from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta in the north to the Tehachapi Mountains in the south , and from the various California coastal ranges (from the Diablo in the north to the Santa Ynez in the south) in the west to the Sierra Nevada in the east. Unlike the Sacramento Valley, the river system for which the San Joaquin Valley is named does not extend very far along the valley. Most of the valley south of Fresno instead drains into Tulare Lake, which no longer exists on a regular basis due to diversion of its sources. Major rivers include the San Joaquin, Kings, and Kern river, all of which have been largely diverted for agricultural uses and are mostly dry in their lower reaches.

Related Topics:
Tehachapi Mountains - Diablo - Santa Ynez - Sierra Nevada - Sacramento Valley - Tulare Lake - San Joaquin - Kings - Kern

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Prior to the 1920s, most of the valley was bone-dry desert akin to the Mojave. Areas not receiving irrigation water from the Central Valley Project and other irrigation projects look much the same as when Spanish explorers passed through in the late 18th century, with the exception of the oil derricks and pumps that can be found in varying densities throughout the valley. The areas west of Interstate 5 are particularly desolate.

Related Topics:
Mojave - Central Valley Project

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unlike most other agricultural areas in the United States, the San Joaquin Valley was settled at a time when the automobile had become the primary means of transportation. Moreover, landholdings are considerably larger than those in the Midwest and South, usually on the order of thousands of acres. Since one town could thus serve a vastly larger area than was possible in the 19th century, the density of settlements is considerably less than that of areas settled in the day of roads and rail. Because of this, there are very few incorporated settlements in the region compared to other rural areas.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pollution

Hemmed in by mountains and lacking any prevailing winds to disperse smog, the San Joaquin Valley has long suffered from some of the United States' worst air pollution. This pollution mainly comes from heavy usage of high-sulfur agricultural diesel fuel and from petrochemical industries. Population growth since 2000 has caused the San Joaquin Valley to pass Los Angeles and Houston in most measures of air pollution. Only the Inland Empire region east of Los Angeles has worse overall air quality, and the San Joaquin Valley led the nation in 2004 in the number of days with quantities of ozone considered unhealthy by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Related Topics:
Smog - Air pollution - Sulfur - Diesel fuel - Los Angeles - Houston - Inland Empire - Ozone - Environmental Protection Agency

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Water pollution is another significant problem in the valley. Soil salination in heavily irrigated areas has significantly reduced the viability of some of the most valley's most fertile tracts, especially those in the Tulare lake bed. Contamination of groundwater by leakage from manure pits at dairy farms and cattle feedlots has led to significant outcry.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~