Parts of Merced County have slowly sunk over time because large amounts of groundwater have been pumped from beneath the San Joaquin Valley, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. One of the most heavily affected areas is near El Nido, south of Merced. USGS has mapped a large sinking area covering about 1,200 square miles. The area stretches roughly from Merced to Mendota and from Los Banos to Madera. … USGS researchers found significant sinking near El Nido between 2007 and 2014. At the fastest point measured during that study period, the ground near El Nido was sinking at about 270 millimeters per year.

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