The Kings River country was not an attractive site for early settlers , because for most of its lower course the river flows in an incised channel between low bluffs ( an area known as the Centerville Bottoms ) , leaving the surrounding plains high and dry , suitable only for livestock grazing . Further downstream , approaching Tulare Lake , the land was too swampy for farming in addition to being seasonally flooded . For this reason , farmers initially favored the more well-watered Kaweah Delta , the present-day location of Visalia , to the south . Agriculture along the Kings River was limited to the Centerville Bottoms until ditches were extended from further upstream to supply the surrounding lands , the first being the short Byrd Ditch in 1858 . The Great Flood of 1862 and another in 1868 destroyed most of the early settlements along the Kings River , and also wiped out the cattle ranching economy of the San Joaquin Valley , precipitating an economic shift to farming
Great Flood of 1862
Great Flood of 1862
Kings River (California)