Twitchell Island is an island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in Sacramento County, California, 35 kilometres (22 miles) southwest of Sacramento. At 2 metres (6.6 feet) below sea level, the 1,200 ha (3,000-acre) is bounded on the north by Seven Mile Slough, on the east and south by the San Joaquin River, and on the west by Three Mile Slough. The island is entirely within the Rio Vista Gas Field, although well pads and associated infrastructure make up only a small part of its land use. It is managed by Reclamation District 1601.[1]

Twitchell Island
An aerial photo of an island.
Twitchell Island in an aerial photo taken looking toward the east in 2018.
Twitchell Island is located in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island is located in San Francisco Bay Area
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island is located in California
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island is located in the United States
Twitchell Island
Twitchell Island
Geography
LocationNorthern California
Coordinates38°06′35″N 121°38′55″W / 38.109641°N 121.648565°W / 38.109641; -121.648565
Adjacent toSacramento-San Joaquin River Delta
Area3,000 acres (1,200 ha)
Highest elevation−2 ft (-0.6 m)
Administration
State California
CountySacramento
CityIsleton
A photo taken on Twitchell Island in 2006.
An Army Corps of Engineers flood emergency exercise Oct. 22, 2014, on Twitchell Island.

Twitchell is eighty-five percent owned by the State of California.[citation needed]

Twitchell Island is the site of an experiment being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey to study whether growing tules and cattails on the sinking islands of the Sacramento Delta can reverse the soil loss caused by wind, rain and farming. The soil under the 15-acre (6.1-hectare) site has risen 1 to 2 feet (0.30–0.61 metres) since the project started in 1996.[citation needed] The plants not only help rebuild the level of the soil, but sequester quite a bit of carbon as well.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Sacramento County, California Reclamation Districts" (PDF). Sacramento Local Agency Formation Commission. August 2009. Retrieved 24 February 2021.

Bibliography

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