Central Valley
The Central Valley lies between the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada. More than four hundred miles long and about fifty miles wide, the Central Valley is the most productive agricultural area in California.
Oak woodlands and bunchgrass prairies once covered the valley floor and great tule marshes extended over the flood plain. Beavers in the inland streams first lured European Americans across the continent to California in the 1820s. Overhead is the Pacific flyway, a heavily traveled route for migrating birds. Beneath the surface of the valley lie rich deposits of oil and natural gas, created millions of years ago from the remains of marine plants and animals. Irrigated cropland today covers most of the valley and produces more agricultural products than any comparable region in the world.
The Central Valley is really two valleys in one. In the south is the San Joaquin Valley, drained by the northward flowing San Joaquin River; the Sacramento Valley lies to the north and is drained by the southward flowing Sacramento River.