California water systems | tugster: a waterblog

I’ve always called this a “waterblog,” and this post is no exception. New York state has a complex water system, but California’s is much more so. With this post, I’m foolishly trying to capture the water story based on a trip from from Sacramento to LA, via 99 to Bakersfield, then west to Buttonwillow, over a range to Soda Lake, then Taft, back toward I-5, down the Grapevine into LA; ie, the central valley and southward.

I hope these few photos drive a complex story, beginning with Delta King in the capital, over 80 miles upstream and through the delta from the Golden Gate. Of course, the California water system starts way farther north than Sacramento.

See those ships higher than the land?

The one to the left–Aurora— has a quite tangled history itself. You could be working in the fields here and look upward to see the ship.

The delta has many islands; for names and more info, click here. With complexity comes conflict like this.

Port of Stockton itself is 75 miles from the Golden Gate; four saltwater ships were in port the other morning,

as well as a range of smaller vessels . . . .

After almost 250 miles on 99, we drove through all manner of agriculture, we turned off at Bakersfield. Why Merle Haggard Drive? That’s a water story too.

It’s all ag fields from here to the oil fields as we head west to a remnant of the sea that once covered the area.

From the top of the Tremblor Plain, we look back east toward Bakersfield. See the black speck, somewhat center tending to lower right? That’s a grazing Angus.