Resources
The California Delta
More than half of all Californians rely on a single source for fresh water: the California Delta estuary.
Once an inland sea, it’s estimated that 7 million acre-feet of water flows through the California Delta estuary each year.
• Provides water to more than half of California’s population
• 26 rivers, 75,000 square miles
• 750 known species of plants and animals
• Supports the massive migratory bird populations of the Pacific Flyway
• Home to three runs of critically endangered wild salmon
• Part of the world’s largest water conveyance system
This map from 1873 shows the California Delta in gray east of San Francisco Bay.