Yes it is a stunning photo, even more so in that was one of the ‘wettest’ periods in the last 7000 years:
California drought: Past dry periods have lasted more than 200 years, scientists say
“...the past century has been among the wettest of the last 7,000 years.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_24993601/california-drought-past-dry-periods-have-lasted-more
“Yes it is a stunning photo, even more so in that was one of the ‘wettest’ periods in the last 7000 years:”
The subsidence in the central valley has very little to do with the current drought, or even droughts over the last century. It is PRIMARILY due to the high amount of water pumped out of the ground for farming in the central valley; an activity - rate of water extraction, the valley did not experience until the last century.
That water had been placed below ground over centuries, stored during every major wet season and period, as the valley floor flooded like a vast wetland. Extracting it in the massive way that California farming has done in the last century has literally lowered the valley floor.
Now, with so much already extracted in earlier years and with the current drought, the subsidence has slowed as additional water extraction is more difficult and less successful.
California needs desalinization plants, not “high speed” rail lines.