The fertile San Joaquin Valley comprises 14% of the land area of California. When California was under Spanish control, the Valley was the badlands of the West where people went to escape authorities headquartered in towns along the Pacific Coast. Later the Valley became the hiding place of Black Bart, Joaquin Murietta and other assorted bandits escaping the law in Sacramento and San Francisco. Today the San Joaquin Valley retains some of its outlaw flavor, but its also the most fertile and productive agricultural area in the world, producing 80% of all fresh fruit consumed in America and exporting food and fiber to many countries. The Valley is home to alfalfa fields, orchards, vineyards, dairy farms, wineries and many food processing and distribution companies like Del Monte and Sunmaid.