Sacramento

Sacramento, city, United States

Sacramento (săkrəmĕn`tō), city (1990 pop. 369,365), state capital and seat of Sacramento co., central Calif., on the Sacramento River at its confluence with the American River; settled 1839, inc. 1850. A deepwater port via a 43-mi (69-km) channel to Suisun Bay (opened 1963), it is the shipping, rail, processing, and marketing center for the fertile Sacramento valley, where fruit, vegetables, grains, sugar beets, and dairy goods are produced. Cattle and poultry are raised, and food processing is a major industry. Aerospace and computer and electronics industries contribute greatly to the city's economy. Other manufacturing includes printing and publishing, glass, wood products, and building materials. Government is a major employer.

Sacramento is the seat of California State Univ. Sacramento, and has a professional basketball team, the Kings. Points of interest include the state capitol (in a beautiful park), the former governor's mansion (occupied 1903–68; now a museum), Sutter's Fort, the Crocker Art Museum, and the Golden State Museum. The city is known for its camellias; a camellia festival is held annually along with the California State Fair and Exposition.

Sacramento lies on part of a Mexican land grant that belonged to John A. Sutter, who in 1839 began a settlement called New Helvetia and in 1840 built a fort. The discovery of gold in 1848 at nearby Sutter's Mill (now Coloma) led to the platting of the town, and its population soon reached 10,000. Sacramento was made the state capital in 1854. The city annexed adjacent North Sacramento in 1965. In the late 20th cent. Sacramento was one of the fastest-growing U.S. cities.

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Sacramento, river, United States

Sacramento, longest river of Calif., c.380 mi (610 km) long, rising near Mt. Shasta, N Calif., and flowing generally SW to Suisun Bay, an arm of San Francisco Bay, where it forms a large delta with the San Joaquin River. Its chief tributaries are the Pit, Feather, McCloud, and American rivers. At high water the river is navigable by small steamers c.260 mi (420 km) to Red Bluff. The valley saw the great gold strike of 1848, and many of the cities on or near the river and its tributaries sprang up in the gold rush; Sacramento is the largest. This northern part of the Central Valley of California, known as the Sacramento Valley, has been developed as a fertile agricultural region. The Central Valley project was developed to use the waters of the Sacramento with greater efficiency, particularly in the fertile but dry southern part of the Central Valley, known as the San Joaquin Valley. Shasta Dam and Keswick Dam on the Sacramento are major units of the project; they also generate electricity.

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Sacramento

City (pop., 2000: 407,018), capital of California, U.S. It is located in the Central Valley, where the Sacramento and American rivers meet. First settled in 1839 as New Helvetia by John Sutter, it became an important trading centre during the gold rush. The present city was laid out in 1848 and named for the river. It became the state capital in 1854 and prospered as a transportation and agricultural centre. It was the terminus of the first California railroad in 1856 and the western terminus of the Pony Express in 1860. A ship canal completed in 1963 made the city a deepwater port. The city's main industries, in addition to government services, include food processing, printing, and aerospace products. It is the site of several institutions of higher learning.

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Sacramento

1. an inland port in N central California, capital of the state at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers: became a boom town in the gold rush of the 1850s. Pop.: 445 335 (2003 est.)

2. a river in N California, flowing generally south to San Francisco Bay. Length: 615 km (382 miles)