Sherman Island is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta at the confluence of the two rivers in

Sacramento County, California Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

, northeast of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

. The island, mostly managed by Reclamation District 341, is the meeting point of

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

, Solano, and Contra Costa Counties, and is bordered on the north and northwest by the

Sacramento River The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento–S ...

, on the northeast by Three Mile Slough, and on the east, and south west by the San Joaquin River. Sherman Island is a widely known kite and windsurfing area. Sherman Island was shown, in the same location but with a different shape, on an 1850 survey map of the

San Francisco Bay area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

made by Cadwalader Ringgold and an 1854 map of the area by

Henry Lange Karl Julius Heinrich Lange (13 April 1821 – 30 April 1893) was a German cartographer. Biography He was born at Stettin. He worked with Heinrich Berghaus, Berghaus, and then labored three years in Edinburgh on Alexander Keith Johnston (1804–1 ...

. Currently, it is 10 feet

below sea level This is a list of places on land below mean sea level. Places artificially created such as tunnels, mines, basements, and dug holes, or places under water, or existing temporarily as a result of ebbing of sea tide etc., are not included. Places ...

, due to the drainage of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

in the Delta which has dried out its peat soils, resulting in land subsidence. "In ... parts of Sherman Island, the land has now subsided 25 feet since the late 1800s—and continues to sink between half an inch and 1.5 inches yearly." It is possible that simultaneous levee failures on Sherman Island and surrounding islands, occurring in the wake of an

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

, could threaten the fresh water supply for the Central Valley.

Access

Access to the island is provided by boat and from

California State Route 160 State Route 160 (SR 160) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California consisting of two sections. The longer, southern, section is a scenic highway through the alluvial plain of the Sacramento River, linking SR 4 in Antioch with Sacramento ...

, which uses the

Antioch Bridge The Antioch Bridge (officially the Senator John A. Nejedly Bridge) is an automobile, bicycle, and pedestrian bridge in the western United States. Located in northern California, it crosses the San Joaquin River- Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channe ...

to link Sherman Island with the city of Antioch to the south, and the Three Mile Slough Bridge to link Sherman Island with

Brannan Island State Recreation Area Brannan Island State Recreation Area is a state park unit of California, United States, preserving a maze of waterways in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. The recreation area is located in Sacramento County between Rio Vista and Islet ...

to the north. In either case, turn south onto Sherman Island Road and continue driving to Mayberry Slough."Lower Sherman Island Wildlife Area." California Department of Fish and Wildlife. August 6, 2019.
Accessed September 29, 2019.

Wildlife area

The southwest of the island, known as Lower Sherman Island Wildlife Area, contains about and features a large

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

y area and Sherman Lake where there is fish and other water sports, particularly

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

and kiteboarding. This area was designated in 1976 as a wildlife habitat by the California Fish & Game Commission. The Delta Flood Protection Act, enacted after serious flooding occurred in 1986, included

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

improvement projects for Sherman Island, as well as eight other islands. Senate Bill 1065, enacted in 1991, was intended to assure that these islands did not experience any net loss of habitat.

Hours and fees

In 2019, park hours were established as sunrise to sunset year-round. Self-payment is required when no fee collector is present."Sherman Island." Sacramento County Regional Parks. 2019.
Accessed September 30, 2019.

Camping

Overnight camping is allowed with the following restrictions: *Maximum stay is 14 nights, after which a 30-day break is required. *Camping with self-contained vehicles only (RV's, trailers and vans) *Camping is not permitted in the boat launch parking lot

Fees

*$5 Vehicle *$3 Small Watercraft Launch *$10 Vehicle & Trailer/Oversized Vehicle over *$20 Bus *$12.50 nightly camping; parks pass holders receive a $5 discount

Notes

References

External links

* *
Sherman Island Fishing Map
{{Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta Islands of Sacramento County, California Islands of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta Islands of Northern California