Life in the Central Valley of California (1949)

[Music] the Great Valley of central California lies almost in the center of the state it is more than 400 miles long and 60 M wide and except for the narrow opening at San Francisco Bay it is surrounded by ranges of high mountains a long time ago this whole area was a great Gulf an arm of the Pacific Ocean many Swift streams flowed into it from the surrounding mountains rushing Mountain Streams like this carried millions of tons of Earth down into the Gulf now what happened after that went on for thousands of years years decayed rock materials from the mountains were dumped into the Gulf and spread out by the rivers and streams gradually the gulf filled up with these earth materials now all that is left of the old Gulf is San Francisco Bay after countless thousands of years the Great Central Valley was formed a valley filled with deep fertile soils and drained by two river systems the Sacramento fed by many tributaries flows from the Northern end of the Great Valley to the Delta land east of San Francisco and the San waen drains the southern end of the Great Valley flowing northward to the Delta and the Bay now we see that the valley is high at the North and South ends and slopes to nearly sea level where the two rivers meet in in the days of the early settlers cattle were raised in the northern part of the Great Valley in the long hot summers they could be driven up into the Green Meadows of the nearby mountains but some areas in the Sacramento Valley were so dry that only sheep could be grazed profitably far to the south in the sanen valley there was so little rainfall that millions of Acres were Wasteland only a handful of settlers tried to make this for fitting land support them and these men in the San waen Valley envied the farmers who took up land 400 mil to the north because most of the northern part of the Great Valley had enough water for wheat corn and vegetables the Farms of this part of the valley were prosperous the wealth of this Northern section of the Great Valley was water flowing from the nearby mountains the Farmers on this land Harvest Ed Rich crops Dairy farming prospered with Green Pastures and pure water now let's remember this fine Farm in the well-watered part of the northern Valley and compare it with this in the southern sanen this soil is Rich given enough water it could produce Bountiful harvests only about 40 m from this dry valley floor but higher in the rain moist here and Nevada mountains are the Giant squa trees how Mighty water can be in shaping the landscape but nature had not provided water down in the valley millions of Acres would have remained a Barren waste if the men who settled this part of the Great Valley had not used their knowledge and strength to irrigate the land they dug Wells and pumped water into the naturally fertile soil as more and and more water was needed they built reservoirs to hold the excess water of the winter rains the frost free growing season is more than 240 days a year and with irrigation many Farms Produce several crops each year today the valley is benefiting from the creation of a giant irrigation project many huge reservoirs and a great network of canals and pumping stations provide water for millions of acres in the Great Valley when man used his wisdom and energy to bring water to this land he worked wonders the irrigated soil yields heavy crops of long staple Egyptian cotton the original cotton seeds were imported from the muddy Delta of the Nile River the climate and soil of the entire Central Valley are excellent for grapes and its Vineyards rival those of France and Italy many varieties of grape are used to make the wines for which the valley is famous and here's another famous crop of the valley raisins The Ripe grapes are placed on paper trays right in the vineyard where the hot sun dries them and turns the juice into sugar when they are dry on top they are turned to dry the grapes evenly and prevent milw the City of Fresno is known as the raisin center of the world men use the hot sun of the long rainless summer to dry grapes into raisins plums into prunes as well as figs pears and apricots dried fruit is a major product of the Great Valley and conditions for drying it are at their best near Fresno finally the trays of nearly dried fruit are stacked so that nature will finish the process slow slowly in the shade some ranchers operate their own roadside stands selling produce to customers who come along the highways but most of the crops go to nearby Fresno where they are prepared for Market that's a load of fresh-picked grapes Bound for market we've learned how man's use of irrigation developed the Arid southern part of the Great Valley and how the City of Fresno serves as a trading center for the region 200 M North on the Delta of the sanen is Stockton the natural fertility of the Delta land has been increased by another system of canals and pumping stations Distributing water to 400,000 Acres of Rich Farmland the irrigated land produces valuable harvests of beans carrots celery tomatoes in fact a great many different kinds of crops are grown here on the rich Delta soil and Stockton has become the key City in the Central Valley for marketing and distributing fresh vegetables and fruits farther north near the state capital Sacramento we'll see how the farmers have made use of the lowlands bordering the Sacramento River this Broad River provides ample water for Rice Growers here we can see how rice is grown in China or Egypt but this fertile Rice Field is in California huge fields are flooded dyed into large squares quite unlike the small patties of China or Egypt the water supply of the northern Sacramento Valley has been increased by huge reservoirs like the one behind Chasta Dam water is distributed to thousands of Acres that were once useful only for wheat or barley but are now capable of producing more profitable crops such as fruits irrigation and modern farm machinery increase the yield of the land and provide employment for millions of people the city of Sacramento chief trading center for the northern Valley lies at the head of navigation on the Sacramento River oil tankers and bares deliver fuel oil for Sacramento's Mills and factories for this city has become a busy manufacturing center producing tools and Machin beans needed by the farmers of the valley to ship these products and to bring in raw materials Sacramento is served by one of the largest railroad yards in the nation at Roseville nearby Stockton serving the rich Delta land farther south markets and ships vast quantities of Valley Produce but by far the greater tonnage of vegetables and fruits goes to the canaries where it is processed and packed for safe delivery to all parts of the world Stockton is famous as the canning center of the valley fruits and vegetables are often completely processed canned labeled and crated ready to ship within a few hours after they have been picked in the fields Stockton like Sacramento is located on a navigable river here on the San waen the farmers and Packers Goods may be loaded into ships for Asia or Australia or into trucks or Freight cars which distribute the Harvest of the Central Valley to every state in the Union today the Central Valley of California is a rich source of food and wealth for the whole nation three rapidly growing cities Sacramento in the north Stockton on the great Delta and Fresno in the South serve the regions around them we have seen how the farmers have used irrigation to turn useless land into Rich farms and we have seen how the land and the climate help to shape the lives and occupations of the people who live in this Central Valley