Wednesday, March 11, 2015

THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY ... THEN AND NOW

I'm working on a few projects that I need to get out of the way, and I came across this map of California's San Joaquin Valley.


The map was put together by California State University, Stanislaus researchers, and depicts the transformation of the San Joaquin Valley from a water, wetland, and saltbush area to a region that is now dominated by irrigated farm land and creeping urban sprawl.

Where you could once navigate a small boat in the waters from Bakersfield to the Fresno area (including through Tulare Lake) after heavy Sierra Nevada snow and rainy seasons, things changed drastically by the end of the 19th century. Today the region is threatened by a drought that many believe will cripple agriculture production over the next five years if there is no change in current weather patterns.

And you definitely can't navigate a boat from Bakersfield to the Fresno area, even after heavy snow years in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

- Mark

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