San Joaquin

San Joaquin is a province in the northwestern central region of Sierra. The name of the province derives from the Spanish word for Saint. San Joaquin is the 12th largest and 5th most populous province of the 23 in Sierra. The capital and largest city of San Joaquin, Bernheim, has a population of 323,227. San Joaquin was the first of the four provinces to unilaterally from the Kingdom of Sierra, and joining the Second California Republic on April 13, 1874, triggering the Sierran Civil War. The province was restored to the Kingdom on November 11, 1877. San Joaquin remains a bastion for republicanism and is known as the The Republican Province, The Heartland, The Heart of the Styxie, and The Industry Province.

Located within the Styxie, San Joaquin is a land comprised of three regions: Western, Central, and Eastern San Joaquin. Western San Joaquin is flat, with much of it lying within the valley of the province's, while central San Joaquin is accentuated with the mountain range, and eastern San Joaquin an alternation of hills and valleys in the. The province includes one of Northern Sierra's most important water sources: the and the northern part of the internationally renowned.

San Joaquin was originally inhabited by many of several native Indian tribes. Although there is extensive history of the indigenous people prior to European settlement in the province, much of it was not recorded. The earliest known inhabitants in the region has been dated as far back as 10,000 years ago. The earliest peoples were hunter-gatherer societies with no experience with metals but nonetheless made elaborate crafts and artifacts. Inter-tribe relations were generally amicable with different peoples interacting and cooperating, rather than engaging in warfare as other tribes had done elsewhere.

Although the Spanish began exploring the area by the early 19th century, there was little development or interest in San Joaquin short of established land grants to wealthy Spaniard soldiers and settlers. When Mexico gained independence from Spain, it continued the Spanish system of the ranchos and divided present-day western San Joaquin into 15 land grants.

San Joaquin experienced an influx of Anglo-speaking North Americans, most from Brazoria and the Confederate States, who came to settle in the valley, which much thanks to American, the owner of one of the area's ranchos:. Describing the land with enticing and attractive details, his letters were widely circulated throughout the East Coast, bringing in pioneers arriving by wagon trains to the region.

Like much of the Styxie region, San Joaquin is comparatively more ethnically homogeneous than the Kingdom as a whole, with white Sierrans accounting for over 70% of San Joaquinians. Most residents are the direct descendants of immigrants from Brazoria and the Confederate States, who arrived during various time periods. Most of the population is concentrated in the western portion of the province, with the most developed land and infrastructure surrounding the Bernheim-Oakalona-Plainsfield metropolitan area.

San Joaquin's economy is crucial to the Kingdom of Sierra, home to Bernheim, the Kingdom's principal manufacturing and industrial centers, as well as a large agricultural sector. Seven of the Kingdom's largest corporations are based in San Joaquin, and the province serves as a crucial link between Northern and Southern Sierra. It leads in many industries, particularly steel, automobiles, electronics, and energy.

Etymology
The name of the province is derived from the and  of the same name, which are located in the western half of the province. The name originated from Spanish explorer who named one of the river's tributaries while searching for a new site to establish a mission east of, after , the father of , the mother of. San Joaquin's flag is the Cross of Saint Joachim, a green cross overlaid across a white background, referencing to the saint.

Geography
San Joaquin is bordered on the north by Tahoe and Reno, on the east by Clark, the south by Central Valley and Santa Clara, and the west by San Francisco and a narrow portion of the. Most of San Joaquin lies west of the in the northern end of the, which in itself, forms a constituent part of the nationwide. The western end of the province, the (also known as the California Delta) forms the northern terminus of the valley. The Delta allows water flowing inland westward into the, which eventually makes its way to the and , and the. Western San Joaquin is generally flat with minimal topographic variation, with the exception of the (such as the  and ) that primarily orient in a north-south direction along the western boundary of the province in Contra Costa County.

In Central San Joaquin, as one goes further east, the elevation of the province gradually rises from 1,000 feet to an average height of 10,500 feet, passing through the, the , and. Central San Joaquin is geographically notable for the hundreds of s and s dispersed throughout the area. The Sierra Nevada range runs through Central San Joaquin from north to south, and forms a part of the Pacific Mountain System. Immediately to the east of the Sierra Nevada is the, in which much of eastern San Joaquin is located within. This area, which spans across four other provinces (Clark, Eureka, Reno, and Washumko, and the Deseret, is extremely dry and is partially the result of the Sierra Nevada's.

The boundary between Central and Eastern San Joaquin is generally defined geographically by the, a. This feature is also used to separate the Californian region from the Nevadan region, where the Esmeralda and Mineral Counties lie. Eastern San Joaquin is primarily dominated by short but tall mountain ranges, and arid, dry highlands, and includes the.