Central Valley

Central Valley
Great Central Valley, Great Valley, Golden Empire
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 sq mi (47,000 km2)[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, Interstate 80 and State Route 99
Rivers	Sacramento River, San Joaquin River and Kings River

The Central Valley (also called the Great Central Valley^[3]) is a very large valley in the middle of California, in the United States. The valley covers about 44,000 square miles (110,000 square kilometres). It is about the size of the state of Tennessee. It is made up of two connected, differently named valleys, the Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin Valley.

The Sierra Nevada Mountains border the valley on the east side. The Coast Range borders it on the west side. The Sacramento River flows through the north part of the Central Valley. This part of the valley is also called the Sacramento Valley. The San Joaquin River flows through the larger south part of the Central Valley. That part is also called the San Joaquin Valley. Both rivers merge eventually and empty into the Pacific Ocean through San Francisco Bay.

The capital of California, Sacramento, is in the north part of the Central Valley. The Central Valley is around 450 miles (720 kilometres) long.^[4]

The Central Valley has 18 California counties. Fifteen of these counties are among the 25 most productive farmland counties in California. Overall, the Central Valley economy depends on farming. This has led to serious environmental damages, such as pesticides and selenium and other bad materials being washed into the rivers and polluting the San Francisco Bay.

1. ↑ "California Central Valley". American Museum of Natural History. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016.
2. ↑ "Central Valley". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
3. ↑ "Central Valley (valley, California, United States)". Retrieved 2009-03-28.
4. ↑ "The Central Valley is a large and diverse area". Retrieved 2009-03-28.