Sacramento, CA
Sacramento is the capital of the U.S. state of California, and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in California's expansive Central Valley. With a 2010 estimated population of 486,189, it is the seventh-largest city in California.Sacramento is the core cultural and economic center of the Sacramento Metropolitan Area which includes El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento, and Yolo counties and has a combined population of approximately 2,136,604. The city was cited by Time magazine as America's most integrated in 2002.
Sacramento became a city through the efforts of John Sutter, a Swiss immigrant, and James W. Marshall. Sacramento grew quickly thanks to the protection of Sutter's Fort, which was established by Sutter in 1839. During the California Gold Rush, Sacramento was a major distribution point, a commercial and agricultural center, and a terminus for wagon trains, stagecoches, riverboats, the telegraph, the Pony Express, and the First Transcontinental Railroad.
California State University, Sacramento, more commonly known as Sacramento State or Sac State, is the major local university. It is one of the twenty-three campuses of the California State University system. In addition, the University of California, Davis is located in nearby Davis, 15 miles west of the capital. The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is located in the city of Sacramento.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 99.2 square miles (256.9 km2), 97.2 sq mi (251.7 km2) of which is land and 2.1 sq mi (5.4 km2) water; 2.1% of the area is water. The population in 2000 was 407,018; the 1980 population was 275,741. The city's current estimated population is approximately 454,330. Depth to groundwater is typically about 30 feet (9 m). Much of the land to the west of the city (in Yolo County) is a flood control basin. As a result, the greater metropolitan area sprawls only four miles (6 km) west of downtown (as West Sacramento, California) but 30 miles (50 km) northeast and east, into the Sierra Nevada foothills, and 10 miles (16 km) to the south into valley farmland.
The city is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River, and has a deepwater port connected to the San Francisco Bay by a channel through the Sacramento River Delta. It is the shipping and rail center for the Sacramento Valley, fruit, vegetables, rice, wheat, dairy goods, and beef. Food processing is among the major industries in the area.
Climate
Sacramento has a Mediterranean climate that is characterized by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers (Koppen climate classification Csa). The "wet season" is generally October through April, though precipitation does occasionally fall as late as June or as early as September. The mean annual temperature is 61 °F (16 °C), with daily means ranging from 46 °F (8 °C) in December and January to 76 °F (24 °C) in July. Average daily high temperatures range from 55 °F (13 °C) in December and January to 93 °F (34 °C) in July and August. Daily low temperatures range from 41 °F in winter to 61 °F in summer (5 to 16 °C). Winters are usually rainy, cool, and foggy. Spring is rainy early then gradually becoming dryer and warmer. Summers are hot, dry and sunny. Autumn is usually warm early then cool and rainy.
On average, there are 73 days on which the daily maximum temperature exceeds 90 °F (32 °C) each year, and the all-time record high temperature is 115 °F (46 °C), which occurred on July 25, 2006. On average, the daily minimum temperature drops below 32 °F (0 °C) on 18 days each year, and the all-time minimum temperature of 17 °F (-8 °C) occurred on December 11, 1932. Even on the coldest winter days, temperatures generally rise above 40 °F and always above freezing. Summer heat waves often bring triple-digit heat, and consecutive days with temperatures above 100 °F occur virtually every summer but the summer heat is often moderated by a sea breeze known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the Sacramento/San Joaquin delta from the San Francisco Bay.
The average annual precipitation is 21.45 inches (545 mm).On average, precipitation falls on 62 days each year in Sacramento, and nearly all of this falls during the winter months. Average January rainfall is 3.84 inches (98 mm),[16] and measurable precipitation is rare during the summer months. In February 1992, Sacramento had 16 consecutive days of rain, resulting in an accumulation of 6.41 inches for the period (163 mm). A record 7.24 inches (184 mm) of rain fell on April 20, 1880. On rare occasions, monsoonal moisture surges from the Desert Southwest can bring upper-level moisture to the Sacramento region, leading to increased summer cloudiness, humidity, and even light showers and thunderstorms. Monsoon clouds do occur usually during late July through Early September. On average, 96 days in the year experience some degree of fog, which usually occurs in the morning . The foggiest months are December and January. Tule fog can be extremely dense, lowering visibility to less than 100 feet (30 m) and making driving conditions extremely hazardous. Chilling tule fog events have been known to last for several consecutive days or weeks. During Tule Fog events temperature don't get above 50 degrees.
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