Geography
Elevation: 18 feet.
Latitude: 38° 31' N. – Longitude: 121° 30' W.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
257.0 km² (99.2 mi²). 251.6 km² (97.2 mi²) of it is land and 5.4 km² (2.1
mi²) of it is water;2.1% of the area is water. The population in 2000 was
407,018; the 1980 population was 275,741. The city's current estimated
popultion is around 418,000.
The City is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the
American River, and is a deepwater port via a channel to Suisun Bay and San
Francisco. It is the shipping, rail, processing, and marketing center for
the Sacramento Valley, where fruit, vegetables, rice, wheat, and dairy goods
are produced, cattle are raised, and food processing is a major industry.
Much of the land to the west of the City is reserved for a flood control
basin. As a result, the greater metropolitan area sprawls only four miles
west of downtown but 20 miles northeast and east, into the Sierra Nevada
foothills.
Sacramento is located around 85 miles northeast of San Francisco on
Interstate 80 and 135 miles southwest of Reno, Nevada on Interstate 80; It
is 385 miles north of Los Angeles on Interstate 5.
A commuter rail service, Amtrak's Capitol Corridor, links Sacramento to the
San Francisco Bay Area. Amtrak's California Zephyr transcontinental rail
service also calls at the city.
The Sacramento International Airport handles flights coming from and going
to various United States destinations (including Hawai'i) and to/from Mexico.
Capital City
After a few years of wandering throughout the State, the California
Legislature named Sacramento as the permanent home of the State Capital in
1854. Built to be reminiscent of the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C., this
Renaissance Revival style granite building was not completed until 1874.
With its newfound status and strategic location, Sacramento quickly
prospered and became the western end of the Pony Express, and later the
First Transcontinental Railroad (which began construction in Sacramento in
1863 and was financed by the "Big Four" - Mark Hopkins, Charles Crocker,
Collis P. Huntington and Leland Stanford).
The same rivers that earlier brought death and destruction began to provide
increasing levels of transportation and commerce. Both the American and
especially Sacramento rivers would be key elements in economic success of
the city. In fact, Sacramento effectively controlled commerce on these
rivers, and public works projects were funded though taxes levied on goods
unloaded from boats and loaded onto rail cars in the historic Sacramento
Rail Yards.
Sacramentans raised the level of the city by landfill. The previous first
floors of buildings became the basements, in an effort to control the
flooding. Now both rivers are used extensively for watersports. The American
River is off limits to boats and has become an international attraction for
rafters. The Sacramento River sees many boaters, who can make day trips to
nearby sloughs or go all along the Delta to the Bay Area and San Francisco.
The 'Delta King' , which for a long time lay on the bottom of the river, was
refurbished and is now a popular hotel and restaurant.
Sacramento Today
The current mayor is Heather Fargo. The city hosts two professional
basketball teams, the Sacramento Kings (NBA), and the Sacramento Monarchs (WNBA).
In addition, Sacramento also has a minor league baseball team called the
Sacramento River Cats (affiliate of the Oakland Athletics).
The California State Fair is held in Sacramento in the latter weeks of the
summer (ending on Labor Day). Over one million people attended this state
fair in 2001.
Sacramento is also home to California State University at Sacramento,
founded as the Sacramento State College in 1947, with a 2000 enrollment of
around 27,000. The Los Rios Community College District hosts several 2-year
colleges- American River College, Consumnes River College, Sacramento City
College, Folsom Lake College, plus a large number of outreach centers for
those colleges.
The primary newspaper is the Sacramento Bee (www.sacbee.com), founded in
1857. Its rival, The Sacramento Union started publishing six years earlier,
in 1851. Before it closed its doors in 1994, it was the oldest daily
newspaper west of the Mississippi. The Union also had a familiar reporter --
Mark Twain, who worked at the Union in 1866.
The oldest part of the town, other than Sutter's Fort, lies on J to L
Streets between the Sacramento River and Interstate 5, and is now known as
Old Sacramento. It forms the Old Sacramento State Historic Park. Many
buildings from the 1860s on have been either preserved, restored or
reconstructed, and the district is now a substantial tourist attraction,
with rides on steam-hauled historic trains and paddle steamers available.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 407,018 people, 154,581 households, and
91,202 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,617.4/km²
(4,189.2/mi²). There are 163,957 housing units at an average density of
651.5/km² (1,687.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 48.29% White,
15.47% African American, 1.30% Native American, 16.62% Asian, 0.95% Pacific
Islander, 10.96% from other races, and 6.41% from two or more races. 21.61%
of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 154,581 households out of which 30.2% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 38.4% are married couples living together, 15.4%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% are non-families.
32.0% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.2% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.57 and the average family size is 3.35.
In the city the population is spread out with 27.3% under the age of 18,
10.4% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100
females there are 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 91.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $37,049, and the median
income for a family is $42,051. Males have a median income of $35,946 versus
$31,318 for females. The per capita income for the city is $18,721. 20.0% of
the population and 15.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 29.5% are under the age of 18 and 9.0% are
65 or older.
Climate
Sacramento has a Mediterranean climate that is characterised by mild winters
and dry summers. The area usually has low humidity. Light rain usually
occurs between December and February. The average temperature throughout the
year is 16 °C (61 °F), with the daily average ranging from 8 °C (46 °F) in
December and January to 24 °C (76 °F) in July. Daily high temperatures range
from 12 °C (53 °F) in December and January to 34 °C (93 °F) in July. Daily
low temperatures range from 3 to 14 °C (38 to 58 °F). The average year has
73 days with a high over 32 °C (90 °F), with the highest temperature on
record being 46 °C (114 °F) on July 17, 1925, and 18 days when the low drops
below 0 °C (32 °F), with the coldest day on record being December 11, 1932,
at -8 °C (17 °F).
Average yearly precipitation is 442 mm (17.4 in), with almost no rain during
the summer months, to an average rainfall of 94 mm (3.7 in) in January. It
rains on average 58 days of the year. In February of 1992, Sacramento had 16
consecutive days of rain (163 mm, 6.41 in). A record 184 mm (7.24 in) of
rain fell on April 20, 1880.
On average, 96 days in the year have fog, mostly in the morning, primarily
in December and January.
The record snowfall was recorded on January 4, 1888, at 90 mm (3.5 in)
