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Map Satellite These two areas, only a few kilometers south of Sacramento, are excellent examples of the riparian and valley oak woodlands that once lined the rivers of the Central Valley. Before the development of the Valley, dense forests extended up to 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) inland from the rivers and streams, and some of the valley oaks, Quercus lobata, reached a diameter of 1.8 meters (6 feet) and a height of 23 meters (75 feet).
The first area, on the south bank of the Cosumnes River near the confluence with Badger Creek, is composed of both the riparian woodland and scattered valley oaks. Cottonwoods, Populus fremontii, ash, Fraxinus oregona, willows, Salix ssp., and the box elder, Acer negundossp.californicum, button bush, Cephalanthus occidentalisvar.californicus, and coyote bush, Baccharis pilularis, as well as the dominant valley oak, are found here.
The second site, approximately 2 kilometers (1.3 mile) northeast on the creek, is primarily valley oak.
Mule deer, Odocoileus hemionus, once common but now rare in the Valley, and the coyote, Canis latrans, are not uncommon here. This area is also one used by migratory sand hill cranes, Grus canadensis tabida.
Integrity: Though surrounded by agricultural land or altered oak savanna, these areas show no signs of disturbance.
Use: Private. A portion of the Cosumnes is navigable.
Ref: Thompson, Kenneth, 1961. Riparian Forests of the Sacramento Valley, California. Annals Assoc. Amer. Geoq. Vol. 51 (3), p. 294-315.
April 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman
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