To this day, it's the biggest flood in California's recorded history. It put Sacramento underwater, but what about this part of the San Joaquin Valley? The local story of the flood of 1861 and 1862, on this edition of KVPR’s Central Valley Roots.
On December 9th 1861 an atmospheric river storm hit California. The rain continued, all the way until January 20th 1862. Sacramento saw 37 inches of rain. Much of the capital city was underwater. Governor Leland Stanford took a rowboat to his inauguration ceremony. An estimated 4,000 people died, and damages topped $3 billion in today’s dollars.
The southern San Joaquin Valley saw major flooding as well, but most valley cities didn’t exist back in 1862, and the population was sparse. While the entire valley was not submerged, low lying areas were. The valley’s rivers and natural lakes rose, creating a waterway 250-300 miles long and 20 miles wide.
At present day Bakersfield, the Kern River shifted its course to the north, and settlements on Kern Island were destroyed. Near Porterville, the Tule River changed its course, cutting a new channel a mile to the south. There were reports of redwood and cedar logs strewn about on the valley floor. On the Kaweah River delta, the floodwaters carved out a new river, the St. John’s, and left Visalia under several feet of water, melting around 40 adobe buildings. And along the Kings River, the early town of Scottsburg was washed away.
It was an estimated 500 to 1000 year flood event, but scientists say the likelihood of such extreme storms will only grow, thanks to climate change.
