Bounded by two mountain ranges, the 450-mile-long Central Valley dominates the middle of California and covers about 11% of the State. The Central Valley is divided into two parts: the northern Sacramento Valley and the southern San Joaquin Valley. Technically, because it averages less than 10 inches of rain a year, the San Joaquin Valley is a desert. And thanks to what is called the “great water experiment” of the last 100 years, it is the most productive agricultural region in the world, with more than 250 crops under cultivation. But the current system and approaches are unsustainable.
In this episode, host Sarah Thorne and Todd Bridges, Senior Research Scientist for Environmental Science with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Lead of the Engineering With Nature® Program, are joined by author Mark Arax. Mark’s recent book, The Dreamt Land, describes in very personal terms the history of California’s water challenges, its unprecedented irrigation experiment, and the emerging threats of climate change.
Read more at the Engineering with Nature website.
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