Blackberry Island
Map SatelliteThough much of this island is under cultivation, there is a large and dense stand of the typical riparian community of the Sacramento Valley along Blackberry Slough. Cottonwood, Populus fremontii, sycamore, Platanus racemosa, and box elder, Acer negundo ssp. californicum, comprise the overstory. Willows, Salix ssp., wild grape, Vitis californica, and other plants provide a dense thicket attractive to wildlife.
Beaver, Castor canadensis, and the river otter, Lutra canadensis, occur here. Birds are abundant and the rare yellow-billed cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus occidentalis, may inhabit the area.
Blackberry Island was formed by a shifting of the channel, thus forming the slough.
Integrity: Houses have been built along the slough in its upper reaches; however, the area seems sufficiently buffered.
Use: Private
March 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman