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ate create account log in personal tools donate create account log in contents move to sidebar hide top 1 name 2 population toggle population subsection 2 1 metropolitan areas 2 2 ethnography 3 geology 4 environment toggle environment subsection 4 1 flora 4 2 fauna 4 3 protected areas 4 4 health 4 5 air pollution 5 climate toggle climate subsection 5 1 tule fog 5 2 statistics for selected cities 6 hydrography toggle hydrography subsection 6 1 river engineering 6 2 flooding 6 3 landslides 6 4 droughts 7 economy toggle economy subsection 7 1 agriculture 7 2 national farmworkers association nfwa 8 utilities 9 see also 10 notes 11 references 12 external links toggle the table of contents central valley california 42 languages العربية asturianu беларуская български বাংলা català کوردی čeština dansk deutsch ελληνικά esperanto español euskara فارسی suomi français frysk עברית magyar bahasa indonesia italiano 日本語 ქართული қазақша 한국어 lietuvių nederlands norsk bokmål papiamentu polski پنجابی português русский srpskohrvatski српскохрватски simple english svenska türkçe українська oʻzbekcha ўзбекча tiếng việt 中文 edit links article talk english read edit view history tools tools move to sidebar hide actions read edit view history general what links here related changes upload file permanent link page information cite this page get shortened url switch to legacy parser print export download as pdf printable version in other projects wikimedia commons wikidata item appearance move to sidebar hide coordinates 37 00 n 120 18 w 37 n 120 3 w 37 120 3 from wikipedia the free encyclopedia flat valley that dominates central california central valley great central valley great valley golden empire typical flat farmland of the central valley as seen from the air united states geological survey map of their defined four major regions of the central valley length 450 mi 720 km width 40 to 60 mi 64 to 97 km area 18 000 mi 2 47 000 km 2 1 depth 2 000 to 6 000 ft 610 to 1 830 m geology type alluvial age 2 3 million years geography location california united states population centers sacramento fresno bakersfield stockton and modesto borders on sierra nevada east cascade range klamath mountains north coast range san francisco bay west and tehachapi mountains south coordinates 37 00 n 120 18 w 37 n 120 3 w 37 120 3 2 traversed by interstate 5 and interstate 80 rivers sacramento river san joaquin river and kings river the central valley is a broad elongated flat valley that dominates the interior of california united states it is 40 60 mi 60 100 km wide and runs approximately 450 mi 720 km from north northwest to south southeast inland from and parallel to the pacific coast it covers approximately 18 000 mi 2 47 000 km 2 1 about 11 of california s land area the valley is bounded by the coast ranges to the west and the sierra nevada to the east the central valley is a region known for its agricultural productivity it provides a large share of the food produced in california which provides more than half of the fruits vegetables and nuts grown in the united states 3 more than 7 000 000 acres 28 000 km 2 11 000 mi 2 of the valley are irrigated via reservoirs and canals 4 the valley hosts many cities including the state capital sacramento as well as redding chico yuba city woodland davis roseville elk grove stockton modesto merced fresno visalia porterville and bakersfield the central valley watershed comprises 60 000 square miles 160 000 km 2 or over a third of california it consists of three main drainage systems the sacramento valley in the north which receives over 20 inches 510 mm of rain annually the drier san joaquin valley in the south and the tulare basin and its semi arid desert climate at the southernmost end the sacramento and san joaquin river systems drain their respective valleys and meet to form the sacramento san joaquin river delta a large expanse of interconnected canals stream beds sloughs marshes and peat islands the delta empties into san francisco bay and ultimately into the pacific 5 the waters of the tulare basin essentially never reach the ocean with the exception of kings river waters diverted northward for irrigation though they are connected by man made canals to the san joaquin the valley encompasses all or parts of 18 california counties butte colusa glenn fresno kern kings madera merced placer san joaquin sacramento shasta stanislaus sutter tehama tulare yolo and yuba 6 the central valley has struggled to transform its economy beyond its role as an agricultural breadbasket although safety nets have drastically improved central valley poverty rates the central valley still remains as one of the most impoverished regions of california 7 air pollution is a major issue but it is mostly an issue in the san joaquin valley rather than the sacramento valley 8 name edit older names include the great valley a name still often seen in scientific references notably great valley sequence as well as golden empire a booster name that is still referred to by some organizations notably golden empire transit golden empire council citation needed ideas about what constitutes the central valley can vary from person to person while almost all authoritative sources and external observers consider the sacramento valley to be part of the central valley many residents consider the central valley to consist of only the san joaquin valley this is perhaps due to significant landscape and cultural differences between the two the san joaquin valley is poorer and drier with more fertile soil while the sacramento valley is wetter with poorer soils 9 the major presence of the sacramento river and its tributaries in the sacramento valley with its high year round flow and wide waterways has been compared to the small and seasonal rivers of the san joaquin basin this also contributes to different identities between the two regions 9 population edit the central valley from the air looking south from near rio vista subregions and their counties commonly associated with the valley include 6 north sacramento valley all or parts of shasta tehama glenn butte and colusa counties sacramento metropolitan area all or parts of sacramento el dorado sutter yuba yolo and placer counties north san joaquin all or parts of san joaquin stanislaus and merced counties south san joaquin all or parts of madera fresno kings tulare and kern counties the four main population centers in the central valley area are roughly equidistant from each other from south to north they are bakersfield fresno sacramento and redding the table displays the counties of central valley and their respective population during the 2020 us decennial census total jobs for each county is from the u s census bureau onthemap application and lehd origin destination employment statistics beginning of quarter employment 2nd quarter of 2002 2020 county population jobs butte county 211 632 73 219 colusa county 21 839 7 834 fresno county 1 008 654 374 478 glenn county 28 917 9 314 kern county 909 235 282 227 kings county 152 486 43 542 madera county 156 255 49 285 merced county 281 202 74 470 placer county 404 739 166 372 sacramento county 1 585 055 669 429 san joaquin county 779 233 247 406 shasta county 182 155 61 665 stanislaus county 552 878 184 916 sutter county 99 633 29 951 tehama county 65 829 17 735 tulare county 473 117 157 971 yolo county 216 403 106 643 yuba county 81 575 16 937 total 7 210 837 2 573 394 metropolitan areas edit as of 2020 some 7 2 million people lived in the central valley it was the fastest growing region in california 10 it includes 12 metropolitan statistical areas msa and 1 micropolitan statistical area μsa below they are listed by msa and μsa population the largest city is fresno followed by the state capital sacramento the following metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas are listed from largest to smallest smsa population sacramento metropolitan area 2 527 123 fresno metropolitan area 930 450 bakersfield metropolitan area 839 361 stockton metropolitan area 696 214 modesto metropolitan area 518 522 visalia porterville metropolitan area 449 253 merced metropolitan area 259 898 chico metropolitan area 220 266 redding metropolitan area 177 774 yuba city metropolitan area 167 497 hanford corcoran metropolitan area 153 765 madera metropolitan area 152 925 red bluff micropolitan area 63 601 ethnography edit after english and spanish punjabi is the third most commonly spoken language in the central valley 11 the valley has the largest sikh population in the nation geology edit the valley as seen from interstate 5 looking south near derrick avenue in fresno county 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 subduction of the farallon plate into a trench farther offshore the valley has no earthquake faults of its own but is surrounded by faults to the east and west an example of the differences between the geology of the valley floor and that of the rugged hills of the coast ranges between tracy and patterson ca interstate 5 the valley was enclosed by the uplift of the coast ranges with its original outlet into monterey bay faulting moved the coast ranges and a new outlet developed near what is now san francisco bay over the millennia the valley filled with 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 flood control and aqueduct system was built annual snow melt turned much of the valley into an inland sea the one notable exception to the flat valley floor is sutter buttes the remnants of an extinct volcano just to the northwest of yuba city another significant geologic feature of the central valley lies hidden beneath the delta the stockton arch is an upwarping of the crust beneath the valley sediments that extends southwest to northeast across the valley 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 12 13 excessive groundwater pumping in central valley has caused measurable amounts of land subsidence in recent years 14 environment edit the central valley seen from space flora edit this section needs more citations please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources unsourced material may be challenged and removed may 2024 learn how and when to remove this message the central valley was formerly a diverse expanse of grassland containing areas of prairie desert grassland at the southern end oak savanna riparian forest marsh several types of seasonal vernal pools and large lakes such as now dry tulare lake once the largest freshwater lake west of the mississippi buena vista lake and kern lake however much of the central valley environment has been altered by human activity including the introduction of exotic plants notably grasses the valley s grasslands wetlands and riparian forests constitute the california central valley grasslands a temperate grasslands savannas and shrublands ecoregion the foothill oak woodlands and chaparral that fringe the valley have been categorized as the california interior chaparral and woodlands ecoregion 15 the dominant grass of the valley was nassella pulchra mixed with other species but today only 1 of the grassland in the valley is intact grassland flowers include california poppy eschscholzia californica lupins and purple owl s clover castilleja exserta which can still be seen especially in antelope valley in the tehachapi mountains riverside trees include willows western sycamore platanus racemosa box elder acer negundo fremont cottonwood populus fremontii and the endemic valley oak quercus lobata another endemic species is brittlescale atriplex depressa which grows in saline and alkali soils 16 fauna edit this section does not cite any sources please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources unsourced material may be challenged and removed may 2021 learn how and when to remove this message a sandhill crane antigone canadensis in a flooded field in butte county california on their wintering grounds in the central valley sandhill cranes forage primarily on waste grain in corn rice and wheat fields the central valley was once home to large populations of pronghorn antelope antilocapra americana elk including the endemic tule elk subspecies cervus elaphus nannodes mule deer odocoileus hemionus california ground squirrels gophers mice hare rabbits and kangaroo rats along with their predators including the san joaquin kit fox an endangered subspecies surviving on the san joaquin valley s hillsides the valley s wetlands 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 ruddocki blunt nosed leopard lizard gambelia sila gilbert s skink eumeces gilberti and the western aquatic garter snake thamnophis couchii endemic invertebrates are present the central valley is home to endemic fish species including the sacramento pikeminnow sacramento perch sacramento blackfish and sacramento splittail protected areas edit the great valley grasslands state park preserves an example of the valley s native grass habitat while oak savanna habitats survive near visalia areas of wetland and riverside woodland are found in the north especially by the sacramento river system including the nature conservancy s cosumnes river preserve just south of sacramento gray lodge wildlife area butte sink wildlife management area and other patches in the delta area remaining vernal pools include pixley national wildlife refuge between tulare california and bakersfield and jepson prairie preserve in the delta large blocks of desert scrubland exist in the southern san joaquin valley and the carrizo plain just outside the valley but offering a similar landscape the wetlands have been the target of rescue operations to restore areas replaced by agriculture 17 these patches of natural habitat are disconnected which is particularly damaging for wildlife that is used to migrating along the rivers agriculture grazing land and the draining of lakes and rivers have radically altered valley habitats most of the grassland has been overtaken by new species most vernal pools have been destroyed leaving only those on the higher slopes the marshland has been drained and the riverbank woodlands have nearly all been affected citation needed health edit this section does not cite any sources please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources unsourced material may be challenged and removed may 2024 learn how and when to remove this message the va...
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