Basic HTML Version
15
www.deltalivingmagazine.com
January – March
By Harry Stoll
B
ig Break—a celebration
and revelation of the Del-
ta—takes its name from a 1928
breech of a levee separating an as-
paragus farm from Dutch Slough
and the San Joaquin River. The
failed levee was part of an array
built from post-Gold Rush days
to the 1930s to hold back the wa-
ters of the mighty Sacramento and
San Joaquin rivers as they owed
to the ocean. This “reclamation”
resulted in 57 man-made islands
of 550,000 acres that are primarily
farmland. But the inundation from
the Big Break was never reversed
and today it’s an estuary. It and its
shoreline hold a store of life.
Big Break is where saltwater
up from the Paci c meets fresh
water down from the Sierra Ne-
vada snow melt. It’s home to 70
species of sh, mammals, birds in
marshes, ponds, sloughs, sandy
banks and well-drained upland
areas.
You can sh (but not hunt),
launch your boat or kayak, picnic
in one of the meadows, or hike
along the trails along the estuary
and in all the terrain types here.
Your dog can go, on a leash, but
dogs are not allowed in the marsh-
es. The trails connect to Marsh
Creek trail. It’s possible to walk
to Bay Point, almost all on trails.
Birders can spot snowy egrets,
great blue herons, white faced ibis,
yellow faced chats and scads more.
Big Break has a brand newVisi-
tors Center. Enthusiastic naturalist
Mike Moran, the acting supervi-
sor, says “The Delta is the most
important piece of real estate in
California, with all of us deeply
dependent upon it in one way
or another—for food, water, rec-
reation, etc.This is the center, the
place where the interests of all
Californians come together.”
The Center has a 1,200 square
foot interactive map that shows
you how water ows throughout
the region. Maybe it will get you
thinking about the struggle among
competing interests to nd a way
to preserve the Delta. You could
ponder as you go into nature to do
what you want, or maybe merely
enjoy the fresh breeze that always
seems to come o the water at Big
Break.
Big Break Regional Shoreline
69 Big Break Road, Oakley, CA
888.327.2757,Option 3, Ext. 4596
www.ebparks.org/parks/big_
break
Open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 6 p.m.
(depending on time of year)
Visitor Center open from 10
a.m. to 4 p.m., weekends
The wonder of Big Break
A dramatic area of Delta biota
Naturalist Mike Moran, the acting supervisor for the Visitor's Center.
One of the birds on display in the Visitor’s Center, an American Kestrel, male.
An amazing relief map of the entire Delta with a “fishy” wired bicycle rack
in the background.
Photos by Sam Bradley