Elk Grove

History

The Miwoks, a Native American tribe, once inhabited the area until the Westward Expansion of the United States, in which the Miwoks were relocated to reservations. In 1808, Spanish explorer Gabriel Moraga entered the region, naming the valley "Sacramento Valley" in honor of Sacramento, the "Holy Sacrament" in Spanish, giving the northerly city of Sacramento its name. A writer on Moraga's expedition wrote of the region:Canopies of oaks and cottonwoods, many festooned with grapevines, overhung both sides of the blue current. Birds chattered in the trees and big fish darted through the pellucid depths. The air was like champagne, and (the Spaniards) drank deep of it, drank in the beauty around them. Elk Grove was founded in 1850 as a stage stop for travelers coming from Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area, when the Elk Grove Hotel and Stage Stop was opened by James Hall, and the town was named after it. He named the area Elk Grove because he found elk horns in nearby tree groves, and he lived in a town of the same name in the state of Missouri. In 1868, the Western Division of the Central Pacific Railroad came through about a mile east of Elk Grove. At this new location, another hotel was built to accommodate travelers and was named the Elk Grove Hotel. In the following decades, Elk Grove remained a small farming community with little urban development. In the late 1980s, suburban development projects began to arise around the community, specifically in the north near Sacramento. These were meant to serve Sacramento's population, as well as San Francisco commuters seeking a commuting community relatively near the San Francisco Bay Area where they could reside. Such changes triggered a period of rapid growth. On July 1, 2000, Elk Grove incorporated as a city. The…

Geography

Elk Grove is south of the state capital in Sacramento and experiences a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with hot summers and cool winters. Summers are moderated by a cool Pacific Ocean breeze also known as the "delta breeze" which comes through the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta from the San Francisco Bay.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  22,953
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  22,759
• California/Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay

  Aphelocoma californica (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  20,987
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,565
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  17,634
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  17,546
• Yellow-rumped Warbler

  Setophaga coronata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,618
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,926

Largest nearby schools

• Franklin High
  High · Elk Grove · 2,587 students · 22.7:1 ratio
• Pleasant Grove High
  High · Elk Grove · 2,520 students · 22.5:1 ratio
• Sheldon High
  High · Sacramento · 2,492 students · 22.9:1 ratio
• Monterey Trail High
  High · Elk Grove · 2,353 students · 22:1 ratio
• Laguna Creek High
  High · Elk Grove · 2,231 students · 21.9:1 ratio
• Cosumnes Oaks High
  High · Elk Grove · 2,212 students · 22.8:1 ratio
• Fortune
  Other · Sacramento · 1,866 students · 31.1:1 ratio
• Elk Grove High
  High · Elk Grove · 1,774 students · 20.2:1 ratio