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1952 Map of Sanborn Slough

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Sanborn Slough
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1986
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1986

About this map

Butte Sink dominates this landscape, revealing a complex network of wetlands and seasonal waterways in the heart of the Sacramento Valley. The map documents an area defined by its water management and hunting culture, where the Sacramento River and Butte Creek interact with numerous diversions. The prevalence of private sporting establishments, such as the Sanborn Slough Gun Club, White Mallard Hunting Club, and Wild Goose Country Club, illustrates the region's long-standing status as a premier waterfowl habitat.

In the southeast, the terrain rises toward the base of the Sutter Buttes, contrasting with the low-lying sloughs like Sanborn Slough and Drumheller Slough. The infrastructure of the early 1950s, updated with mid-1970s revisions, is characterized by agricultural roads like Gridley Road and Cherokee Road that skirt the edges of the sink. This survey captures a specific era of California water history, showing the intricate flumes, pumps, and levees used to control the flow across county lines.