Energy & Environment

Steven Greenhut | 12.29.2023 8:01 AM

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is the West Coast's largest estuary, an awe-inspiring area of wetlands with 700 miles of waterways and 1,100 miles of levees nestled between the San Francisco Bay and the Central Valley south of Sacramento. It's one of the most magnificent places in California—a refuge of orchards, marinas, tin-roofed shacks, plantation homes and tiny historic towns that feels more Deep South than Golden State.

The 1949 movie, All the King's Men—based loosely on the life of Louisiana's populist Gov. Huey Long—was filmed in the Delta and neighboring Stockton. It is not the only "Southern" movie filmed in this haunting, foggy backwater. Given its unusual geography, small population and location 375 miles north of Los Angeles, the Delta doesn't garner much attention in the arid and bustling Southland. Yet the battle over California's water resources is centered in the region.

I certainly suggest a trip there for any California history buff. It's a short hop from Sacramento and it's worth a visit to Locke, a national historic site that was home to Chinese immigrants who built the levees and railroads. But learning about the area is a must for anyone interested in our water........

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