Sacramento is the capital city of California and the seat of Sacramento County, located in the central part of the state in the fertile Sacramento Valley.

Sacramento is situated at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River.

The state’s seventh-largest city at the 2000 census, Sacramento was the gateway to the mining regions during the California gold rush of 1849 and long has been one of the West’s leading commercial and transportation centers.

The city takes its name from the Sacramento River, named by early Spanish explorers in honor of the Christian sacraments.