User:Sourjax/sandbox

This is my sandbox page. I can use it to play around with wiki markup. Being bold is important on wikipedia

What article are you thinking of contributing to? Please put your possibilities here. Julianfulton (talk) 21:43, 22 February 2019 (UTC)

Article Topic: Ayute-Native Irrigation There is currently no page on this topic.

I did not have much luck obtaining sources for the topic listed above. I'm going to change my topic. New Article Topic: Historical Sacramento Flooding and Architectural Design

Adding to The Great Flood of 1862 page. Adding to Sacramento subheading and adding subheading City Rebuilding

Outline

Sacramento as state's Capital

- historical site and center of economy for California as Gold Rush brought new comers

- expandansion into settlement within California's floodplain

-flood control and preventative measures, range of flooding

Rebuilding Efforts after The Great Flood of 1862

-railroad support to help rebuild levee system

-Chinese labor force

Possible Sources


 * 1) Castaneda, C., and Simpson, L. (2013). River City and Valley Life: An Environmental History of the Sacramento Region, University of Pittsburgh Press

2. Null, J., Hulbert, J. (2007). California Washed Away: The Great Flood of 1862. Weatherwise, 27-30.

3. Muir, J. (1894). The Mountains of California: Chapter 11 The River Floods. The Century Co., New York.

 Sacramento 

The Sacramento flood plain quickly became inhabited by a growing population during the Gold Rush served as the central hub for commerce and trade and the home of political leadership, the California State Legislature. The landscape was recognized as a flood prone landscape located at the confluence of the American and Sacramento River. John Muir notes the extent of seasonal flooding in Sacramento, “…The greatest floods occur in winter, when one could suppose all the wild waters would be muffled and chained in frost and snow…rare intervals warm rains and warm winds invade the mountains and push back the snow line from 2000 to 8,000 feet, or even higher, and then come the big floods.” Political actions to address flood risk included an investment of more than $1.5 million on flood control and prevention through improved levee system around Sacramento and the great Sacramento area. However, the series of storms that led to the Great Flood of 1862 averaged precipitation levels records show only occur once every 500 to 1,000 years. Geographical range of flooding in the state was noted by a traveling geologist from Yale University, William Brewer, who noted on January 19, 1862 “The great Central Valley of the state is under water—the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys—a region 250 to 300 miles long and an average of at least 20 miles wide, a district of 5,000 or 6,000 square miles, or probably three to three and a half million acres! Although much of it is not cultivated, yet a part of it is the garden of the state. Thousands of farms are entirely under water—cattle starving and drowning.” From December to January of 1862 series of storms carrying high winds and heavy precipitation left city streets and sidewalks underwater. Photographs provided by the Center for Sacramento History shows water canals replacing city streets and boats docked to storefronts replaced by carriages. On Inauguration Day, January 10, 1862 the state’s eighth governor, Leland Stanford, traveled by rowboat to his inauguration building held at the State Legislature office. Much of Sacramento remained under water for 3 months after the storms passed. As a result of flooding, the California State Legislature was temporarily moved to San Francisco during rebuilding and renovating the sunken city if Sacramento.

City Rebuilding

Sacramento put efforts into restructuring the city’s foundation by re-channeling the American River, reinforcing the established levee system, and passing a two-decade project to raise the city above flood level. Due to the high costs associated with flood recovery the city of Sacramento reached out to the aid of the Transcontinental Railroad Co. which was a major turning point in levee resilience and reconstruction. Prior to the great flood, levee breaks and failures caused much destruction from flooding. The Transcontientnal Railroad had laid tracks across the Sierra Nevada and stationed it’s major repair and production line in Sacramento. At the time, Chinese labor force consisted of immigrants accustomed to the Mediterranean climate that closely resembled that of their homeland. The Chinese workforce of over 14,000 works reconstructed levees under the guidance of Charles Crocker, the head contractor for Central Pacific Railroad. In response to a weak levee system and seasonal flooding, flood plain architecture was incorporated in residential infrastructure evident in Victorian buildings throughout Midtown to Downtown Sacramento. Flood design includes raised front porches with stairs leading down to the street. In addition, small hallow spaces are built into the basement level to allow for basement flooding and aeration. Old Town Sacramento was raised 15 feet above flood level. Ruins of the old city remain underneath the streets as tunnels leading nowhere with hallow sidewalks, filled in entrances, trap doors, and rubble where storefronts and walkways used to be. Large wooden beams and dirt brought in from surrounding areas helped to stabilize and build on top of the once flooded city.