Jones Tract


The Jones Tract is an island containing Lower Jones Tract and the Upper Jones Tract in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in San Joaquin County, California, fifteen kilometres west of Stockton. The island is bounded on the north by Empire Cut, on the northeast by Whiskey Slough, on the southeast by Trapper Slough, and on the west, Middle River. The tracts are bifurcated by the parallel running Mokelumne Aqueduct, West Lower Jones Road, and a railroad originally built by the Achison Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, which now carries freight trains of the BNSF Railway and Amtrak California's San Joaquin.

2004 levee failure

On 3 June 2004, the Upper Jones Tract levee near Woodward Island failed, inundating the entire island with more than of water. The island, which lies 3 metres below sea level, required three weeks to repair the breach, and an additional five months for de-watering after the pumps were shut down on 18 December 2004. The levee failure resulted in approximately $90 million in repairs.