page_title: San Joaquin River
section_title: Federal and state projects
hierarchical_section_title: San Joaquin River / Dams, diversions and engineering / Federal and state projects
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of Central Valley Project canal system in San Joaquin Valley, CA
context_page_description: The San Joaquin River is the longest river of Central California in the United States. The 366-mile long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean. An important source of irrigation water as well as a wildlife corridor, the San Joaquin is among the most heavily dammed and diverted of California's rivers.
  People have inhabited the San Joaquin Valley for more than 8,000 years, and it was long one of the major population centers of pre-Columbian California. Starting in the late 18th century, successive waves of explorers then settlers, mainly Spanish and American, emigrated to the San Joaquin basin, first exploiting then driving out the indigenous tribes. The newcomers quickly appropriated the rich natural and hydrologic resources of the watershed for use in farms and cities, but found themselves plagued by flood and drought. Because of the uniform topography of the San Joaquin Valley, floods once transformed much of the lower river into a huge inland sea.
caption: Federal and state canals in the San Joaquin Valley
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