Sacramento California

Sacramento, Californiais located at the intersection of two prominent and historic American rivers, the American River (the site of Sutter's Mill), and theSacramento River (the longest river entirely in the state of CA), in California’s Central Valley. Sacramento's 97 square miles of Northern California is known for its Gold Rush era attractions, beautiful riverfront, world-renowned entertainment, and thousands of trees. Sunny Sacramento has the most trees per capita of any major city in the world. Nicknamed the "City of Trees," the City of Sacramento has a Heritage Tree Ordinance which protects significant native trees.

Sacramento was charted in 1849 and became the permanent state capitol of California in 1879. The city's rich history, however, dates back to 1839, whenJohann Augustus Sutter was granted 48,000 acres of land at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers. Gold was discovered just 30 miles from Sacramento, starting the California Gold Rush of the late 1840s. Originally established as a supply town for gold miners, Sacramento became a major distribution and transportation point for both the Pony Express and the First Transcontinental Railroad at their western ends. The fast-growing city of Sacramento, California had an estimated 453,781 residents in 2006 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This was an 11.5 percent increase from the year 2000.

The city of Sacramento is the county seat ofSacramento County and the state capital. TheCalifornia State Capitol Museum is both the state’s working seat of government and a museum. The city's economy is varied but the government is, by far, the largest employer.

As the county seat, Sacramento, CA is home to the five courthouses of theSacramento Superior Court. The Carol Miller Justice Center at 301 Bicentennial Circle handles landlord / tenant and small claims cases. The Gordon D. Schaber Sacramento County Courthouse at 720 9th Street handles civil, felony and misdemeanor trials. The William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse at 3341 Power Inn Road handles family law matters such as divorce, adoptions, probate, and more. There is also a Juvenile Courthouse at 9605 Kiefer Boulevard, and the Lorenzo Patiño Hall of Justice at 651 I Street, which houses departments of the Sacramento Superior Court and also theSacramento County Main Jail.

The UC Davis Medical Center, a world-renowned research hospital, is located in the city of Sacramento. It is Northern California's only level 1 trauma center. TheSutter Memorial Hospital also serves the city.

Public school education is provided bySacramento City Unified School District in the majority of the city. Other public school districts serving Sacramento, CA include theCenter Unified School District, Natomas Unified School District,San Juan Unified School District,Twin Rivers Unified School District, Folsom-Cordova Unified School District,Elk Grove Unified School District and the Robla School District. Colleges and universities in Sacramento includeSacramento State, theUC Davis Graduate School of Management (a graduate center of the University of California), National University, Alliant International University, Trinity Life Bible College,University of Sacramento, four regional campuses of the University of San Francisco, the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, an extension of San Francisco'sGolden Gate University, and theUniversity of Southern California.

Sacramento is strategically located in Northern California and easily accessible by I-5, I-80, Business 80 (Capital City Freeway), Highway 50 (El Dorado Freeway), Highway 99, Highway 160 and Highway 65. TheCalifornia Highway Patrol provides for the safety and service of motorists in the state, and theSacramento Police Department provides law enforcement services to the city. Sacramento has also implemented traffic calming devices to slow motor-vehicle traffic to improve safety, reduce speeds, and reduce automobile crashes. The traffic calming devices include speed bumps, pedestrian crosswalks, and lower speed limits.

The city of Sacramento's Department of Transportation is making traveling by car safer and quicker by installing roundabouts. A roundabout is a circular intersection where all traffic moves in a counterclockwise direction. Traffic must yield to traffic from the left (already in the roundabout), and to all pedestrians when entering and leaving the roundabout. Collisions occur less frequently at roundabouts than at intersections with traffic signals.

TheSacramento International Airport serves the City of Sacramento and theSacramento Regional Transit provides public transportation services. The Sacramento River provides a deep-water port connected to the San Francisco Bay via a 43-mile channel.

Attracting over5 million visitors annually, Sacramento, CA features Wild West history in a modern, cosmopolitan city. Old Sacramento is a 28-acre town of preserved historic buildings, museums and monuments. Popular attractions include wooden sidewalks, horse-drawn carriages, Pony Express monuments and Mississippi-style riverboats. Even winter days are generally mild and sunny here, allowing the "River City" to live up to its name with outdoor attractions that range from world-class fishing to adventure rafting.