Miscellaneous Documents and Reports

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  1923 - Flow in California Streams, Bulletin No. 5, Appendix A, Report to the Legislature

  The legislature of 1921 appropriated $200,000 for an investigation of California's water resources by the State Department of Public Works, Division of Engineering and Irrigation. Accordingly, an engineering investigation was completed and a report on California's water resources transmitted to the legislature on January 1, 1923. The report addresses the geology, precipitation and run-off in California.

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  1923 - Irrigation Requirements of California Lands, Bulletin No. 6, Appendix B, Report to the Legislature

  The legislature of 1921 appropriated $200,000 for an investigation of California's water resources by the State Department of Public Works, Division of Engineering and Irrigation. Accordingly, an engineering investigation was completed.

  California's agricultural lands are those portions of the state that have suitable soils, disposed in appreciable areas of regular surface conformation, favorable climate, and other requisite conditions for the production of harvestable crops. Included in these, are lands at present deficient in natural moisture, but more or less conveniently situated for the ultimate acquisition of an accessory water supply. These agricultural lands produced, or were capable of producing, the grains, fruits, berries, grapes, vegetables, and the other farm products of the state, and slightly over half of this total agricultural producing area was farmed in 1920.

  The increasing demand for California's agricultural products that occurred prior to 1870, was satisfied by dry farming additional areas of land each succeeding year. The curve expressing the expansion of the improved area in farms, showed that this extension of area continued up to the year 1885 with no increase in the area of the total land under cultivation after that date.

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  1923 - Water Resources of California, A Report to the Legislature of 1923, Bulletin No. 4

  A 1923 report prepared by the California Department of Public Works, Division of Engineering and Irrigation, along with a Consulting Board consisting of members of the civil engineering profession. The engineering department was tasked with determining the maximum amount of water that could be delivered to the maximum area of land, the maximum control of flood waters, the maximum storage of waters, the effects of deforestation and all possible and practicable uses for such waters in California. The engineering department was further tasked with determining a comprehensive plan for the accomplishment of the maximum conservation, control, storage, distribution and application of all waters of the state, and to estimate the associated cost to implement the plan. The investigation concluded that there was ample land and water but that success in the financing and construction of irrigation works was dependent upon the accelerated colonization of the rural areas.

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  1927 - Letter to U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs regarding Homeless California Indians

  A June 23, 1927, letter from L. A. Dorrington, Superintendent of the Sacramento Indian Agency, to the U.S. Commissioner of Indian Affairs regarding the purchase of land for homeless California Indians. Detailed 25-page report listing the number of Indians in each band identified in each county and advising as to whether it would be necessary to purchase public land for them. Dorrington expressed concern about the failure of certain bands to adequately develop the land noting that in some instances the need for provision of adequate water supply for domestic use, proper fencing and construction of better homes.

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  1929 - California Irrigation Districts, Bulletin No. 21

  The investigation is an enlargement of a study outlined February, 1926, by the late state engineer, Wilbur F. McClure, and cooperating agencies. Work on the project was suspended in 1927 but was resumed early in 1928 at the request of the California Economic Research Council, whose committee on irrigation economics prepared the schedule used in the field investigation.

  An earlier report on this subject by the same author covered the situation up to 1915, and was published as Bulletin 2 of the State Department of Engineering. This report, together with Bulletin 2, presented the most complete information it had been possible to obtain concerning irrigation districts and the irrigation district movement in California.

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  1930 - California - An Index to the State Sources of Agricultural Statistics, Part I - Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts

  Part I of five volumes, this 1930 index of California agricultural statistics and reports, Section I - Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts largely covers the period from 1905 through 1927. The index was prepared by the Library of the United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the College of Agriculture of the University of California.

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  1930 - California - An Index to the State Sources of Agricultural Statistics, Part II. – Crops other than Fruits, Vegetables and Nuts.

  Part II of five volumes, this 1930 index of California agricultural statistics and reports pertaining to crops other than fruits, vegetables and nuts, largely covers the period of 1905 through 1927. The index was prepared by the Library of the United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the College of Agriculture of the University of California.

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  1930 - California - An Index to the State Sources of Agricultural Statistics, Part V – An Index to Some Unofficial Sources

  Part V of five volumes, this 1930 index of unofficial sources of California agricultural statistics items largely covers the period of 1905 through 1927. The index was prepared by the Library of the United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the College of Agriculture of the University of California.

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  1931 - California - An Index to the State Sources of Agricultural Statistics, Part III, Livestock and Livestock Products

  Part III of five volumes, this 1931 index of California agricultural statistics and reports pertaining to livestock and livestock products largely covers the period of 1905 through 1927. The index was prepared by the Library of the United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the College of Agriculture of the University of California.

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  1931 - California - An Index to the State Sources of Agricultural Statistics, Part IV – Land, Farm Property, Irrigation, and Miscellaneous Items

  Part IV of five volumes, this 1931 index of California agricultural statistics and reports pertaining to land, farm property, irrigation and miscellaneous items largely covers the period of 1905 through 1927. The index was prepared by the Library of the United States Bureau of Agricultural Economics in cooperation with the College of Agriculture of the University of California.

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  1931 - Rainfall and Stream Run-Off in Southern California since 1769

  This report consists of a compilation and study of the varied information available for the purpose of determining and reconstructing the record of rainfall and runoff fluctuations in Southern California since the arrival of the Spanish Mission Fathers in 1769. By 1931, data regarding rainfall and stream runoff in Southern California had only been collected by rain gauges for approximately 50 years. Beginning in 1769 with the establishment of the first Spanish Mission in Alta California substantial amount of data existed in the form of the letters and reports from Mission Padres who related in detail information regarding the rain and the floods. In 1834 when the Mexican government took over the mission lands, the Padres records ceased. In their place, whalers, trading ships and others entering Upper California carried on the narrative that the missions had previously recorded.

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  1938 - Quarterly Chapter of State Mineralogist's Report XXXIV, California Journal of Mines and Geology

  Report of the development of mining resources and mining activities in each of the four field districts (Redding, Auburn, San Francisco and Los Angeles) were prepared by the District Engineer.

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  1939 - Bulletin 18-F, California Irrigation District Laws, Revised

  Bulletin 18-F is the eleventh volume in this series of publications. It includes the text of the California Districts Securities Commission Act and the four district acts that have been most used in creating organizations for the development and distribution of water for irrigation.

  Following each legislative session since 1919, the Division of Water Resources and its predecessors, the Department of Engineering, and the Division of Engineering and Irrigation, have compiled and issued revised editions of these laws to include the numerous amendments and additions that have been adopted to meet changing requirements found necessary under operating conditions.

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  1945 - Irrigation Requirements of California Crops, Bulletin No. 51

  This 1945 report addresses the issue of water being the limiting factor in the expansion of irrigated areas. The increasing cost of new projects not only approached the capital values that newly irrigated lands might profitably support but in many cases exceeded them and other benefits were evaluated to justify construction. Conservation of existing water supplies was therefore of the first importance in the economy of the irrigated west. Savings in irrigation seldom exist where water was plentiful but where it was scarce conserving methods were the rule, wasteful practices were avoided, and water was carefully applied. It was axiomatic that the most economical use prevailed where there was a diminishing supply and water was high priced. Such conditions prevailed in parts of California.

  In the report irrigation data available throughout the State was divided into three groups. First, irrigation requirements for some of the principal crops have been determined through experimental studies by State and Government agencies, frequently in cooperation with the Division of Irrigation, Soil Conservation Service. The second group included information on plant use of water as measured by soil moisture studies in determination of consumptive use or the transpiration use of water by crops. The third group of data included records of depths of water applied in ordinary irrigation practice, estimated water requirements by engineers, appraisers and experienced water administrators. For purpose of discussion, California was divided into six subdivisions, as follows: 1) South Pacific Basin, 2) Great Basin Desert Area, 3) San Joaquin Valley, 4) Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, 5) Sacramento Valley, and 6) Coastal Area north of Los Angeles.

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  1951 - Generalized Soil Map of California, Manual 6

  The 1951 publication provides a generalized soil map of California depicting in a general way the soil geography of California. The map shows four major topographic divisions that are separated into 18 mapping categories and an unmapped south-eastern desert region.

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  1953 - Santa Cruz-Monterey Counties Investigation - Bulletin No. 5

  The area in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties under this investigation has recently experienced a substantial increase in water utilization, in common with many other parts of California. As a result, it is confronted with a need for more complete conservation of its water resources. Diversion of surface water in Santa Cruz County has increased until in dry years insufficient summer How exists in certain streams to meet peak water demands for urban and recreational requirements. Expanding irrigated acreage in Pajaro Valley together with trends toward more intensive agriculture have increased the ground water draft in that valley and have resulted in sea-water intrusion. Concern has been aroused as to the adequacy of surface and ground water resources, as presently developed, to meet water demands.

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  1959 - California Government and Forestry from Spanish Days Until the Creation of the Department of Natural Resources in 1927, C. Raymond Clar

  This 1959 book focuses on the relationship between forestry and the California government. The surface treatment of the lands of California was of significant importance in the building of California, just as was the Gold Rush, the challenge of empire-building and the struggle for water. The book covers on a relatively short span of years although it commences with forest use in Spanish- Mexican California.

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  1962 - Geologic Guide to Gas and Oil Fields of Northern California

  Port I of Bulletin 181, Geologic guide to the gas and oil fields of Northern California, comprises five papers designed to give the reader some orientation with respect to petroleum and other mineral development, the geologic framework, the Late Mesozoic formations which include the oldest gas-producing horizons as well as the "basement" rocks, and the economics of development of the Sacramento Basin. Part II treats the regional geology—first surface, then the subsurface—of the Sacramento Valley, northern San Joaquin Valley, and the Santa Cruz Mountains. For each province there are papers on the general geology, followed by detail on selected gas and oil fields. Part III is the contribution of the State Division of Oil and Gas, comprising very short sketches of all gas and oil fields in northern California. Part IV consists of the field guides and road logs for five scheduled trips.

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  1965 - The Original Constitution of the State of California, 1849, with the Official Spanish Translation

  A presentation copy to the Governor of the State of California, Edmund G. Brown, of the first California Constitution. The book includes the Constitution in English and Spanish, along with a narrative about the circumstances surrounding the creation and adoption of the original Constitution.

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  1967 - California Ranchos and Farms; 1846-1862, Including the Letters: Of John Quincy Adams Warren of 1861, Being Largely Devoted to Livestock, Wheat Farming, Fruit Raising and the Wine Industry, Paul W. Gates.

  Published in 1967, the book, containing letters of John Quincy Adams Warren, was edited by Paul W. Gates who describes the importance of early agriculture in California. Gates writes about the complications created by the Mexican land grants and the beginning development of irrigation. He examines the early American period of California husbandry and beginnings of commercial farming. Gates provides detailed information concerning California ranchos and farms, summarizing livestock, grain, fruit and wine industries during the 1850s. The 1861 John Quincy Adams Warren letters included in the book were written by Warren throughout his travels in Southern California, the Bay area, and the northern counties of Central Valley. The letters were published in the American Stock Journal in 1860-1862. Warren’s primary interest was livestock followed by vineyards and orchards with agricultural pursuits receiving cursory attention. Warren criticized the state for allowing land monopolization by a few owners.

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  1971 - DWR Bulletin 176, Land Use in California, An Index to Surveys Conducted by the California Department of Water Resources 1950-1970

  The purpose of the 1971 California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Bulletin No. 176 was to bring the wealth of land information assembled by the DWR over a 20-year period to the attention of public and private planning groups. The DWR and it's predecessor agencies had conducted surveys to monitor the development of California's lands in order to determine the changing needs for water management. In the preceding 20 years, population in California had doubled, resulting in an average annual increase in urban land of more than 50,000 ares and an increase in total irrigated acreage of 20 percent. The survey data provided a basis for developing an understanding of the historic interrelationships between growth factors and the consequences of land use conversion.

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  1976 - Mexican-American Land Tenure Conflict in California, David Hornbeck

  This paper examines the merging of the Mexican and American land tenure systems and how the two very different concepts of land acquisition, organization and maintenance clashed resulting in a distinctive settlement pattern not usually associated with Anglo settlement. The Mexican landscape, organized according to centuries of Spanish tradition, was the antithesis of the type established by the westward moving American pioneer. Spatial differences were many, particularly in the areas of agriculture, settlement, transportation, space economy and land tenure.

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  1978 - January – Drought 77 Dry Year Program Report

  The objectives of the Drought 77 Dry Year Program were to identify critical drought impacted areas in Northern and Central California, to provide information to water users in these areas in regard to water conservation, to assure that the limited supply available was used in accordance with lawful rights, and to take enforcement action against violations of permit and license conditions, illegal diversions and waste or unreasonable use of water.

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  1979 - The California Water Atlas

  The atlas was developed as an attempt to provide the average citizen with a single-volume point of access to understanding how water works in the State of California. It addressed treatments of every aspect of water supply, delivery, and use in California, the nature of the water environment, the changes mankind has made in that environment, the history of water development, the operation of the major natural and artificial water systems, the relationship of water pricing to water consumption, the uses of water in industry, recreation, and energy development, the problems of water quality, and the current (1979) and emerging questions of water policy for the future.

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  1982 - Grants of Land in California Made by Spanish or Mexican Authorities

  The 1982 California State Land Commission publication provides the historical background of landownership in California that led to the private land claims and subsequent patents issued. Contains discussion of the missions, presidios and pueblos. Provides a listing by each county of the name of the rancho (grant), patentee, patent date, patent number, watercourse, Township and Range, and the amount of acreage.