The delta's rich soil produces everything from corn to wine grapes.Marcus Bleasdale
5,000 new homes planned for the Hotchkiss Tract are likely to be a magnet for San Francisco residents seeking affordable housing. Marcus Bleasdale
Many levees double as local roads.Marcus Bleasdale
The Cosumnes River Preserve is a reminder of the delta's bucolic past.Marcus Bleasdale
SACRAMENTO'S WATERWORLD: The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta lies just inland from San Francisco Bay. Most of it is below sea level -- the area shown here in yellow. The delta's rich farmland is protected by more than 1,100 miles of earthen levees. Two giant pumping stations in the town of Tracy supply vital irrigation water to farmers in the Central Valley and drinking water to millions in Southern California. Map illustrated by Roy Wiemann
Former Rio Vista mayor Marci Coglianese.Marcus Bleasdale
Rio Vista is a sleepy town in northern California where Main Street still has the feel of Route 66. In the good old days, when the Sacramento River was healthy, it was a fishermen's paradise.Marcus Bleasdale
Duck hunter and retired lawyer Tom Zuckerman.Marcus Bleasdale
Geologist Jeffery Mount.Marcus Bleasdale
VITAL ARTERY: An abandoned dock on the Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel. The channel, completed in 1963, is 30 feet deep and 43 miles long.Marcus Bleasdale