Excerpt from Ground Water for Irrigation in the Sacramento Valley, California No phase of the history of California is more striking and interesting than the economic and social changes which are now affecting the Sacramento Valley. These changes cover the whole field of human activity, and yet in a peculiar sense the control and use of water are the vital factors which differentiate the development of this valley from the industrial expansion that has been common to the whole country since the Civil War. Each step in the mastery of water adds impetus to the basic industry of agriculture and, through the ramifications of industry and trade, brings progressive changes to all parts of the social fabric. The control of rivers for navigation and flood protection, the drainage of swamp lands, the harnessing of mountain streams for the production of electric power, and the use of both surface and underground water for irrigation and domestic purposes present problems which "involve in so complete and fascinating a way all of the phases of hydraulic engineering." The solution of these problems is being accomplished with amazing rapidity, largely by private interests, working under wise laws and effective supervision and control by State and Federal bodies. The possibilities of the Sacramento Valley were early appreciated by the Spanish colonists of California, but the vastness of the province, its distance from Mexico, and the intractability of the northern Indians prevented them from making settlements north of Sonoma. American immigrants, beginning with Gordon, Knight, Wolfskill, and Sutter, recognized the value of the country for raising cattle and established ranches on lands granted by the Mexican Government. The valley was the stronghold of the Americans during the conquest in 1845, and many of the settlers became rich in the mines in the years following the discovery of gold in 1848. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.