Most Americans, and the rest of the world, would describe California by its popular tourist destinations and economic touchstones: Hollywood, Disneyland, the Golden Gate Bridge, Big Sur, Venice Beach, Silicon Valley.
But there is another California, and it's home to the greatest garden in the world. California's great Central Valley stretches from Shasta County to Kern County--some 450 miles long and typically 40 to 60 miles wide. It encompasses 18 counties with a total of over five million people and over 42,000 square miles--one-sixth of the population and more than two-fifths of the land area of the state.
There are no marquee destinations, only sober, business-first cities and vast stretches of farmland and cattle range. But the Central Valley is beginning to change rapidly.
Families looking for lower-cost housing in California's inflated housing market are trading a three-hour commute to work for a little country space and serenity -- and once-fertile fields are being paved over to make way for subdivisions.
San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced are the most popular Counties San Joaquin Immediately south of Sacramento County, San Joaquin County is in the heart of the agricultural Central Valley, with an astonishing 87.5 percent of its land area in farms (1992 data). Most of the county's population is in incorporated cities: Stockton, Lodi, Manteca, Tracy, Ripon, Lathrop, and Escalon. The remaining population are in unincorporated areas. San Joaquin County's leading industry is, not surprisingly, food and kindred products, far outdistancing stone, clay and glass products; lumber and wood products; fabricated metal products; and several others (based on 1992 data). Leading agricultural commodities in the county are grapes and milk, followed at a distance by almonds, tomatoes, walnuts, apples, and others. Stanislaus Immediately south of San Joaquin County, Stanislaus County is also predominantly farmland (79.4 percent, according to 1992 data), Most of the county's population is in incorporated cities: Modesto, Turlock, Ceres, Oakdale, Riverbank, Patterson, Waterford, Newman, and Hughson the fastest growing town in California. The remaining residents are in unincorporated areas. The leading industry in the county is food and kindred products, far outdistancing paper and allied products, fabricated metal products, and others. The county's main agricultural products include milk, almonds, chickens, chicken eggs, cattle and calves, turkeys, walnuts, tomatoes, alfalfa, and peaches. The county is increasingly serving as a bedroom community for Bay Area and Silicon Valley workers as a result of its less costly homes. Merced Another predominantly farmland county (79.2 percent of land in farms, according to 1992 data), Merced County is immediately south of Stanislaus and, like Stanislaus, firmly in the center of the Great Central Valley. Most of the county's population is in incorporated cities: Merced, Atwater, Los Banos, Livingston, Dos Palos, and Gustine. The remaining residents are in unincorporated areas. As is so typical in the Central Valley counties, Merced's leading industry is food and kindred products. Chief products include milk (the clear leader), almonds, chickens, cotton, tomatoes, alfalfa hay, cattle, sweet potatoes, turkeys, and eggs. A new University of California campus is being planned for Merced County. |