San Joaquin Valley

Devin Galloway U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California The greater Houston area, possibly more than any other metropolitan area in the United States, has been adversely affected by land subsidence. Extensive subsidence, caused mainly by ground-water pumping but also by oil and gas extraction, has increased the frequency of flooding, caused extensive damage to industrial and transportation infrastructure, motivated major investments in levees, reservoirs, and surface-water distribution facilities, and caused substantial loss of wetland habitat.