Ms. Cotton's Summer Adventure: Crossing the Sacramento River from Sacramento, CA to Grant's Pass, OR

I continued heading north today and I was surprised how many times I went across the Sacramento River so I decided to write about it. The Sacramento River is the largest river in California and water from this river supplies one-third of the people of California with drinking water. The river was first settled over 12,000 years ago by native people who lived along the banks of the river and survived by gathering acorns to make bread and cakes and fishing along the river and hunting in the forest. Spanish explorers moved into the area in the late 1700s looking to establish missions. Explorer Gabriel Moraga named the river Rio de Los Sacramentos, which was later shortened to the Sacramento River. Pioneers on the Oregon Trail who wanted to head to California cut across the Siskiyou Trail and followed parts of the River to the area they settled. The population of Americans along the Sacramento increased greatly when John Augustus Sutter and his men built a fort at the confluence of the Sacramento and American rivers. One of his employees James W. Marshall was assigned to build a sawmill along the American River and in the process gold was discovered. This discovery triggered the Californis Gold Rush of 1849. Unfortunately, the onslaught of settlers brought smallpox and malaria to the area and the Native Americans had no immunity to these illnesses and were severely impacted. Today the Sacramento River provides much of the water for California and its shore makes a great recreation path. I enjoyed walking along the river at different times today. The water was really cold and my poodles loved it! Love knowing the history of this amazing river.