When Europeans first arrived at what is now California\'s San Joaquin Valley, they found a vast landscape of wetlands, small ponds, riparian forests, and grasslands surrounding three large swampland lakes.
This remarkable transformation, with its enduring consequences, i.
What greets a visitor to the region today is a dramatically different view of mile after mile of row crops, vineyards, orchards, and grazing acreage--some of the most fertile and productive agricultural land in the world.
When Europeans first arrived at what is now California\'s San Joaquin Valley, they found a vast landscape of wetlands, small ponds, riparian forests, and grasslands surrounding three large swampland lakes