Stockton, CA: Port of Stockton on San Joaquin River

(Satellite)

Antique Images from the Collection of Michael J. Semas posted
Waterfront at Stockton, California. Image taken 1915-1920. Stockton was one of the most important ports on the West Coast of the United States. Ships could sail in from the San Francisco Bay and dock at this Central California town. The ability for ships to come this far into California made the ability to ship agricultural products that much easier. It is still an important port today.
Scott Yelland: Not to mention boat building.
Jose Gonzalez: Before dams, people were able to ride their boat from the Delta and dock just north of Fresno on the San Joaquin river or during high water years, all the way down into Tule Lake, via Fresno Slough. The Valleys rivers were navigable waterways back then.
[Other comments clarify that it was riverboats, which have a shallow depth, that could go far inland.]
Scott Yelland: Paddle wheel steamers roamed all over the delta by the hundred in the days before the railroad. Many of them were built in Stockton.
Jimmy Spradley: During the gold rush, miner supplies were shipped to Stockton and then hauled from there to the mining areas.
Paul Jevert shared

Dennis DeBruler commented on Paul's share
I wonder how many other ports in the USA have at least seven ships at the docks.
https://www.google.com/maps/@37.9452175,-121.3252118,2089m/data=!3m1!1e3?entry=ttu

PortOfStockton_home

PortOfSotckton_about
In 2020, nearly 4 million tons of cargo moved through the Port of Stockton (also known as Stockton Port District).

CaliforniaPorts
"The Stockton Deepwater Ship Channel has an average depth of 35 feet (10.6 meters), and reaches an average of 40 feet (12.2 meters) at high tide. Vessels in between 45,000 and 55,000 DWT, and even some wide-beam 60,000 DWT ships, can easily navigate the passage with a full load, while up to 80,000 DWT vessels can make the trip with a partial load. The channel does not have a width restriction, and ships up to 900 feet (275 meters) LOA are capable of reaching the Port of Stockton. The Port is home to two massive Liebherr 550 mobile harbor cranes, each with a 144 metric ton capacity."

Over time, they have had to do a lot of dredging to keep the port viable.

Satellite

Speaking of needing to dredge the river.

Third photo on history page

They have channelized the river.

Fourth photo on history page

This is one of several of the photos that show how containers have revolutionized the shipping industry.

Eleventh photo on history page

This is one of three photos showing grain being loaded on ships at the Penny Newman grain elevator. (3D Satellite)

Seventeenth photo on history page
"Maiden Voyage of SS Marine Rice Queen 4/30/60"

I saw Southern Pacific boxcars and truck trailers. Looking at some topo maps, I think Santa Fe had direct access and SP and WP had access through a terminal railroad. Today, the port is served by UP and BNSF.

PortOfStockton_home
I remembered that this blog is "Towns and Nature," so I'll mention their Owl Cam.
A whole section of the website is devoted to their support of the environment.