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Show Nature of the Economy Employment is strongly concentrated in primary industries. Agriculture, forestry, and mining to- gether are relatively more important in the Central Valley than for the Nation. Manufacturing occu- pies a minor position, and perhaps as much as half of the employment in manufacturing is in the food and raw materials processing industries. However, the Central Valley is a part of the larger California area, where San Francisco and Los Angeles are major manufacturing centers. The Central Valley, therefore, is part of a larger region which has a more balanced economy than the valley itself. Present Forms of Resource Use Agriculture The economy of the Central Valley is dominated by agriculture-overwhelmingly irrigation agricul- ture. The total irrigated area in 1949 was over 4 million acres, more than four times the acreage irrigated in. 1900. This acreage is divided among 59,000 farms. The per acre productivity, in dol- lars, of Central Valley farms is twice as great as the average of other agricultural lands in the United States. Intensity of cultivation and specialization plus the favorable climatic conditions are largely responsible for this high productivity. Livestock is a major source of income on 30 per- cent of the farms of the Central Valley, and the valley accounts for about half of the total livestock production of the State. Despite a high production of livestock and livestock products, the rapid growth of California's population has resulted in increased imports of these products. The most rapidly grow- ing regional deficit is in dairy products. The major field crops are dry beans, barley, al- falfa, and sugar beets. Cotton, rice, potatoes, table and wine grapes, and figs, nuts, and hops are im- portant specialty crops. Also of prime importance are truck and fruit farming. The foothill agricul- tural areas are primarily devoted to raising de- ciduous fruit and to grazing. Manufacturing Half of all manufacturing plants in the valley process foods. The primary industry is the canning of fruits and vegetables. Other major industries are the manufacture of cans for the food processing industries, and of agricultural machinery. The importance of the Central Valley to manu- facturing cannot be measured only in terms of its industries. It furnishes water, power, and raw materials for many of the industrial enterprises of the important San Francisco Bay region. Mining The value of mineral production in the Central Valley is very high and the variety of minerals pro- duced is great; but the greater part of the total value is contributed by petroleum, natural gas, and gold. Lumbering The pine region of the Sierra Nevada foothills produces 45 percent of California's large timber production. Most sawmills are located in the foot- hill area, but plants manufacturing finished prod- ucts, like furniture, generally are near the major markets, as in the bay area. Many of the sawmills are in the Sacramento Valley section. Because the high quality of local timber makes it valuable for export, the valley imports a large proportion of its lumber needs. California ranks second among the States in volume of lumber cut, about three-fourths, or 2 billion feet, coming from the Central Valley. Recreation The Sierra Nevada includes the outstanding mountain and lake recreation area of the Nation. From Mount Shasta at the northern end of the Sacramento Valley through the sub-basins of the Pit, Feather, Yuba, Bear, American, Mokelumne, and others, to the Kern River, draining the southern slope of Mount Whitney on the south, the entire area provides accessible recreation for the people of the valley and the coastal cities, summer and winter. The basin includes four of the Nation's finest national parks: Lassen, Yosemite, King's Canyon, and Sequoia. The increase in California's popu- lation and the postwar tourist expansion have greatly increased use of these parks. Parts of the Yosemite Valley are faced with a serious problem of overcrowding. National forests include the Shasta, Lassen, Plumas, Tahoe, Eldorado, Stanislaus, Sierra, and Sequoia. In addition, there are several State parks, 84 |