Gazing down from atop 3,489-foot high Mt. Diablo, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta levees below create a maze like patchwork of nearly 60 islands and tracts surrounded by water flowing toward the San Francisco Bay. The 1,100 linear miles of levees was created after the Gold Rush to reclaim vast wetlands for farming. The soil — laden with extremely rich nutrients — is considered among the most prime farmland in California.