California's San Joaquin Valley Fig District: a geographic analysis

A noted agricultural geographer, in studying crop-combination patterns, observed that "only rarely does a crop assume a position approximating absolute isolation" (Weaver, 1954, p. 175). Yet, in the case of the fig in the United States, this condition prevails. For, nearly all of the nation's figs are produced from orchards situated in a limited area within central California. The state's commercial fig plantings are located almost exclusively on the eastern San Joaquin Valley floor segments of three California counties (see Map 1). The concentration of figs in its present location is not a recent phenomenon. Following an early period of experimentation or trial and error with varieties and methods of culture and location of plantings, the present producing center rapidly evolved. Indeed, as early as 1909, this area was part of a five county area recognized as the "principal fig district" of California (Swingle and Rixford, 1910, p. 81). This district—herein termed the San Joaquin Valley Fig District will be the subject of this paper and attention will be focused on a geographic analysis of its development.