Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from A Quantitative and Statistical Study of the Plankton of the San Joaquin River and Its Tributaries in and Near Stockton, California, in 1913
Two points of difference from the typical river basin in its latitude are interesting characteristics of the San Joaquin. First, its drain age is northwestward away from the equator. Second, it consists throughout of a rather deep trough with comparatively abrupt sides and unusually ?at bottom, the level of which is repeatedly broken by the deltas of tributaries entering in most cases very nearly at right angles. The land surfacevaries markedly in character with the differences in these tributaries, but with a constant tendency to the formation of swamps and marshes at the lower points through the deposit of the lighter organic matter not left in the tributary deltas. This condi tion is very prominent from some distance above Stockton on to the mouth of the river. Stockton itself is on the eastern border of an area of swampy peat land through which the course of the river can be maintained only by extensive systems of levees. Even then great stretches of the lower levels are inundated each year, and Stockton has the perennial problem of escaping from ?oods.
It is quite evident from the foregoing that the lower valley as a whole is fertile, with a deep soil of good texture. The lower part is fairly well settled but there is as yet no adequate control of the water supply and an extensive area is practically undeveloped. The few cities are small and far apart. None of them is so situated as to cause any appreciable contamination of the river water near Stock ton. The whole basin is under the direct influence of the dry and wet seasons. With its low levels, this results in sluggish, almost stagnant ?ow of the main river during the first, and a brisk ?ow during the run-ofi' of ?ood waters incident to the second.
This paper is published by permission of Dr. H. M. Smith, commissioner of the United States Bureau of Fisheries.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
