Merced

Among California’s cities, Merced stands out as the home of UC Merced, the newest campus in the University of California system. On the eastern side of the San Joaquin Valley, it developed as a Central Pacific Railroad town in the 1870s and remains a commercial centre for a broad agricultural area. The nearby Merced River runs west from the Sierra Nevada through farms, grassland and riparian habitat, while the foothills rise to the east. Downtown follows a compact grid, with the restored 1931 Merced Theatre anchoring Main Street’s civic and entertainment life. The university has brought research and a younger population to a city long shaped by rail connections and farming. Trace Merced’s place in the San Joaquin Valley by browsing webcams in nearby communities.

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