Walnut Grove in Sacramento County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Delta Transmission Towers/Delta Cross Channel Gates

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

1. Delta Transmission Towers/Delta Cross Channel Gates Marker

Inscription. Delta Transmission Towers The Delta area is home to four separate transmission towers which provide reception for television and radio stations serving the residents of Northern California. Three of the towers rival some of the tallest structures in the world. The four towers are known as: Twin Cities Tower, McCormick Tower, Walnut Grove Tower and Sacramento Tower. Each of the towers can be seen directly to the northeast and southeast of this site.

Twin Cities Tower – 2000 Feet, Channels 40 and 6
Walnut Grove Tower – 1549 Feet, Channels 10-13-3 Backup
McCormick Tower – 2007 Feet, Channels 3 & 31
Sacramento Joint Tower – 200 Feet, Channels 10 13 58

Comparable Structures Empire State Building 1475 Feet
Eiffel Tower 1052 Feet
Statue of Liberty 305 Feet
Delta Cross Channel Gates Built in 1946, the Delta Cross Channel is a man-made channel, less than a mile long, connecting the Sacramento River with Snodgrass Slough and the Mokelumne River System. There is a pair of hydraulically controlled gates on the Sacramento River end of the channel, with usual low-tide overhead clearance of about 8-1/2

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feet – when the gates are in the open position. (Although these gates often referred to as “locks” they are not locks.) These gates may be closed often for various reasons – sometimes for flood control, sometimes for improvement of water quality, sometimes to improve protection of migrating fish. Bureau of Reclamation (part of the US Department of the Interior) standing operations procedures call for gate closure when flow on the Sacramento River reaches the 20,000 to 25,000 cfs range. The opening and closing of the gates generally takes 30 minutes to one hour.

The channel is deep and allows transit of low-overhead-clearance boats when the gates are open. The channel has a bottom width of 210 feet and a capacity of 3,500 cubic feet per second. This provides a shortcut between the two waterway systems. Without this shortcut, a boater must travel the entire distance of Georgiana Slough and back upstream the entire distance of the North Fork of the Mokelumne River (or visa versa) to go this same one-mile distance – a cruise of many miles.

Erected by The Rotary Club of Walnut Grove.

Topics and series.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

2. Delta Transmission Towers/Delta Cross Channel Gates Marker

Part of the gates are visible in the background at the left of the kiosk.

This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Communications • Waterways & Vessels. In addition, it is included in the Rotary International series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 2000.

Location. 38° 14.841′ N, 121° 30.58′ W. Marker is in Walnut Grove, California, in Sacramento County. It is at the intersection of River Road (County Road E13) and Levee Road, on the right when traveling north on River Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 13993 River Road (County Road E13), Walnut Grove CA 95690, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Sacramento Metro,

in the Sacramento Valley,

and specifically in the Central Valley.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

on the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Charles “Chuck” Tison (here, next to this marker);

Kiosk at the Chuck Tison Memorial Park image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

3. Kiosk at the Chuck Tison Memorial Park

Walnut Grove, Est. 1850/Locke, Est. 1915 (here, next to this marker); Locke (approx. 0.2 miles away); Locke, California (approx. 0.2 miles away); Al the Wop's / Bing Lee's Noodle House (approx. ¼ mile away); Locke Memorial Park (approx. ¼ mile away); a different marker also named Locke (approx. ¼ mile away); 打更 The Bok Bok Man 更夫 (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Walnut Grove.

More about this marker. The marker, along with the Charles "Chuck" Tison marker, a Rotary Club of Walnut Grove Sponsorship marker, and the Walnut Grove, Est. 1850 - Locke, Est 1915 marker, share a kiosk located at the Chuck Tison Memorial Park.

Also see . . . The Tall Towers of Walnut Grove, California. Information, history and photos of the transmission towers. (Submitted on October 30, 2010.)

Tower - Southeast of Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

4. Tower - Southeast of Marker

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

5. Tower - Southeast of Marker

Tower - Northeast of the Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

6. Tower - Northeast of the Marker

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

7. Tower - Northeast of the Marker

Front View of the Open Delta Cross Channel Gates image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

8. Front View of the Open Delta Cross Channel Gates

The channel approaching the gates is off photo to the left.

Rear View of the Delta Cross Channel Gates image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

9. Rear View of the Delta Cross Channel Gates

The Open Gates image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

10. The Open Gates

The Channel Approaching the Gates image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Syd Whittle, October 30, 2010

11. The Channel Approaching the Gates

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 30, 2010, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona. This page has been viewed 3,771 times since then and 158 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. submitted on October 31, 2010, by Syd Whittle of Mesa, Arizona.