Yuba City is a
Northern California city, founded in
1849.
It
is the county seat of Sutter
County
, California
, United
States
.
As of
2006, Yuba City had an estimated total
population of 60,360.
Yuba City
is the principal city of the Yuba City
Metropolitan Statistical Area
which encompasses all of Sutter
County and Yuba County
. The metro area's population is 164,138.
It is the
21st largest metropolitan area in California ranked behind Redding
and Chico
. Its
metropolitan statistical area is part of the
Greater Sacramento CSA.
History
The
Maidu people were settled in the region
when they were first encountered by Spanish and Mexican scouting
expeditions in the early 1800s. One version of the origin of the
name "Yuba" is that during one of these expeditions, wild grapes
were seen growing by a river, and so it was named "Uba", a variant
spelling of the Spanish word
uva (grape).
The Mexican government granted a large expanse of land which
included the area in which Yuba City is situated to
John Sutter, the same John Sutter upon whose
land gold was subsequently discovered in 1848. He sold part of this
tract to some enterprising men who wished to establish a town near
the confluence of the
Yuba River and the
Feather River, tributaries of the
Sacramento River, with an eye to
developing a commercial center catering to the thousands of gold
miners headed upstream to the gold fields.
At the same time,
another town was developing on the eastern bank of the Feather
River, the beginnings of what later would become Marysville
.
By 1852 Yuba City had one hotel, a grocery store, a post office,
approximately 20 dwelling homes with a population of about
150.
The
county seat for
Sutter County, CA was chosen to be Yuba City
in 1854. The same year, however, voters decided that
Nicolaus, CA would be a better location, and the
county seat was moved there. County voters returned to their first
choice of Yuba City two years later, in 1856, and it has remained
the county seat since.
Yuba City saw its first major influx of population after World War
II, pushing residential areas west and south from the city's
original center. Orchards were turned into residential areas as new
homes were built to provide the amount of people migrating to the
city.
In December, 1955, a series of storms dropped torrential rain
throughout northern California. The deluge caused all the rivers in
the region to overflow their banks and to break through levees. The
Christmas Eve levee break at Yuba City was particularly disastrous,
with 38 people losing their lives, and heavy damage occurring in
the downtown section. According to Dick Brandt, manager of the Yuba
County airport in 1955, between 550 and 600 Sutter County residents
were rescued from the floodwater by helicopter.
On March 14, 1961, a
B-52
Stratofortress carrying nuclear weapons, flying near Yuba City
encountered a pressurization problem, and had to drop to a lower
altitude. As such, more fuel than expected was used, and the
aircraft ran out of fuel.
It crashed before meeting
with a tanker aircraft. The pilot gave the
bailout command, and the crew egressed at 10,000 ft, except for the
pilot, who ejected at 4,000 ft, while avoiding a populated area.
The aircraft was destroyed. The weapons, two Mark 39 thermonuclear
bombs (identified from declassified Department of Energy films and
photographs) were destroyed on impact though no explosion took
place, and there was no release of radioactive material as a
result.
Geography
Yuba City is located at 39°8'5" North, 121°37'34" West (39.134792,
-121.626201). The
Feather River lies
at the edge of Yuba City.
According to the
United
States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of
9.4
square miles
(24.4
km²), of which, 9.4 square
miles (24.3 km
2) of it is land and 0.1 square
miles (0.2 km
2) of it is water. The total area is
0.64% water.
The Yuba City area is 40 minutes north of Sacramento and is part of
the
Sacramento Valley.
Sutter
County is also home to the smallest mountain range in the world
(the Sutter
Buttes
). The area is sometimes called the "Feather
River Valley" named for the river that divides Yuba City from its
neighbor Marysville. An example is the minor league baseball
team, the Feather River Mudcats of the
Western Baseball League in the late
1990s.
Image:Sutter Mountains.JPG|Sutter Buttes seen from Yuba
City.Image:Yuba sign.jpg|Welcome sign on CA-99.
Climate
Yuba City has a
Mediterranean
Climate which is mild, wet, winters and hot, dry, summers.
January is usually the wettest the month. July is the driest and
hottest. The wet season starts from mid-October and ends in
mid-April when Yuba City sees frequent rain and is usually under
the
tule fog. Heavy rain, especially during
El Nino or too much mountain snow from
winter storms can cause major flooding in the spring. Snow is rare
in the valley, but cold waves from the north bring some light snow
and ice. Spring is wet in the beginning but becomes dryer and
warmer as summer months approach. April is the wettest spring
month. May has some rain, but usually from thunderstorms than
winter storms. Spring orchards and fields become filled with
flowers and tree blossoms during Spring. June-to-September is the
dry and hot season. Rain usually doesn't fall at all, but from rare
southwest monsoon thunderstorms. July and August are the hottest
months when temperatures reach the upper 90's. Heat waves usually
occur from June-through-September. The hottest months are July and
August. The delta breeze, which comes from the Bay Area on summer
nights, helps cool temperatures and add humidity. At times the
delta breeze is strong enough to bring coastal fog inland to the
Sacramento Valley. Autumn starts
out warm but begins to become cooler, wetter, and foggier. From
September-to-mid-October temperatures begin to cool down rapidly
bringing rain and fog. Rain and fog become more persistent from
mid-October into November.
Demographics
As of the
census of
2000, there are 36,758 people (60,507 as of
1/1/2006), 13,290 households, and 8,944 families residing in the
city. The
population density is
3,924.4 people per square mile (1,514.7/km²). There are 13,912
housing units at an average density of 1,485.3/sq mi
(573.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city is 67.0%
White, 2.8%
African American, 0.9%
Native American, 3.6%
Asian American, 0.1%
Pacific Islander, 5.5% from
other races, and 2.4% from two or
more races. 12.5% of the population are
Hispanic or
Latino of any race. The European
population in Yuba City is 0.5% Romanian, 0.7% Portugal, 1.6%
Spaniards, 0.3% Italian, and 1.6% German .
There are 13,290 households out of which 36.7% have children under
the age of 18 living with them, 47.6% are
married couples living together, 14.3% have a
female householder with no husband present, and 32.7% are
"non-families." 26.5% of all households are made up of individuals
and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older.
The average household size is 2.70 and the average family size is
3.28.
In the city the population is spread out with 29.0% under the age
of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to
64, and 12.2% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is
32 years. For every 100 females there are 95.5 males. For every 100
females age 18 and over, there are 91.7 males.
The median
income for a household in the city
is $32,858, and the median income for a family is $39,381. Males
have a median income of $34,303 versus $23,410 for females. The
per capita income for the city is
$15,928. 18.1% of the population and 14.5% of families are below
the
poverty line. Out of the total
population, 24.8% of those under the age of 18 and 9.5% of those 65
and older are living below the poverty line.
Agricultural economy
Sunsweet Inc. headquarters
Yuba City is home to the largest
dried
fruit processing plant in the world,
Sunsweet Growers Incorporated,
so it isn't surprising that beginning in 1988 Yuba City was home to
the California Prune Festival. In 2001 the name was changed to the
California Dried Plum
Festival and in early 2003 directors announced the end of the
festival's 15 year run in the Yuba-Sutter area. This was primarily
due to rise in costs, difficulty in securing sponsors, and
competition from other festivals.
Arts and Culture
Annual Events
Sikh Parade
Yuba City is known for its sizeable
Sikh
community.
The Sikh population in the Yuba-Sutter
Area
has grown to be one of the largest in the United
States and one of the largest Sikh populations outside of the
Punjab state of India . Each year on the first Sunday of
November, Sikhs from the United States, Canada, India, the United
Kingdom and throughout the world attend the Sikh parade in Yuba
City, which commemorates the receipt by Sikhs of their Holy
scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, in 1708. The 4.5-mile-long parade
features floats and a procession of parade participants. The 2005
parade drew an estimated 56,000 people while the 2007 parade was
estimated to draw between 75,000 to 85,000 people of both Sikh and
non-Sikh background . In 2008, an estimated 80,000 people came out
for the event which is now considered one of the largest gatherings
in
Northern California.
Museums and other points of interest
Politics
In the
state
legislature Yuba City is located in the 4th
Senate District, represented by
Republican Sam Aanestad, and in the 2nd
Assembly District, represented by
Republican
Doug LaMalfa. Federally,
Yuba City is located in
California's 2nd
congressional district, which has a
Cook PVI of R +13.
Parks
Community parks:
- Sam Brannan Park
- Blackburn-Talley Sports Complex/Park
- Gauche Aquatic Park
Neighborhood parks:
- Bogue Park
- Greenwood Park
- Happy Park
- Hillcrest Park
- Holly Tree Park
- Kingwood Park
- Lloyd Park
- Maple Park
- Moore Park
- Nakwhal Park
- Northridge Park
- Patriot Park
- Regency Park
- Shanghai Garden Park
- Southside Park
Passive parks:
- Clark-Ainsley Mini Park
- Plumas Tower Plaza Mini Park
- Veterans Memorial Park
Other recreational facilities:
- April Lane School/Park
- Geweke Field
- City Hall
- Senior Center
- Feather River Levee Bike Trail
Education
Yuba City High School is home of the
Honkers.
Public schools are part of the
Yuba City Unified School
District.
The three high schools in the district are
Yuba City High School,
River Valley High School
, and Albert Powell Continuation High School.
Faith Christian
High School is a
private christian school located in Yuba City. The
Yuba City Charter School is
K-12.
Yuba City is in the
Yuba
Community College District and is served by
Yuba Community College in neighboring
Marysville.
Media
The main newspaper for Yuba City area is the
Appeal-Democrat. The newspaper is printed in
Marysville, but serves the entire Yuba-Sutter area. The
Sacramento Bee is also widely sold and read
in Yuba City.
Notable residents and natives
- Guy Branum, TV writer.
- Leanne Marshall, winner of
Season 5 of Project
Runway
- Michael P. Moran,actor and screenplay writer
- Charlie Peacock, award-winning
songwriter, recording artist, record producer.
- Charlotte Stewart, film and
television actress.
- John J. Montgomery, aviation pioneer, was born in
Yuba City.
- Mandeep S. Bajwa, Professional Musician.
Sister/twin cities
See also
References
- Yuba City Quickfacts from US Census Bureau
- Yuba County 2007 Census Estimate
- Sutter County 2007 Census Estimate
- http://tapestry.usgs.gov/features/33sutter.html
- http://www.sunsweet.com/about/
-
http://www.topix.com/religion/sikh/2009/11/u-s-city-celebrates-sikhism
- A Mela in America
- Sikh Heritage Celebrated
- Yuba City
Unified School District
External links
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determined by Sister Cities
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