SACRAMENTO CITY, the capital of Sacramento County, State of California, United States of North America, is situated ou the left bank of Sacramento River, at the confluence of American Fork, in 38° 34' N. lat., 121° 40' W. long., about 150 miles N.E. from San Francisco. The city was founded in the spring of 1849; in 1850 it contained 6820 inhabitants, of whom only 474 were females; and at the State Census in 1852 the population was above 10,000.
Sacramento City owes its origin to the discovery of gold, which gave so remarkable an impetus to California generally. It was on the south breach of American Fork, about 50 miles from Sacramento City, that gold was first discovered. The growth of tho city was, from its foundation, remarkably rapid. In April 1849 there were only four houses on the site; in the following year it was a large and regularly laid-out town of nearly 7000 inhabitants. The city stands in the midst of a fine farming country, and about 30 miles from the commencement of the gold diggings. Occupying a low site, it has - - - been found necessary, in order to protect it from inundations, to which it is liable in the rainy season, to construct a bevee along the bank of the river. The streets of the city cross each other at right
angles ; those running east and west are designated by the letters of the alphabet, and those running north aid south by the numerals. Many of the streets are lined with o'd oak and sycamore trees of large size, imparting a considerable degree of picturesqueness to their general appearance. The city contains Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Roman Catholic, and other churches, schools, numerous stores, above 150 eatirg saloons and hotels (some of which are of a very costly and splendid character), several steam-mills, and a few manufactories. Like San Francisco, Sacramento City has suffered severely from several very destructive fires; but the parts of the city which were destroyed have always been quickly rebuilt, and generally in an improved style. Several daily and weekly newspapers are published here. Regular daily communication is maintained with San Francisco by steam-boats.