Tracy, the sloping city

Alert reader Steve Riddle called the newsroom today, trusty GPS device in hand, to corroborate a couple stories by publisher emeritus Sam Matthews that tried to track down Tank Town's elevation.

Riddle said that outside Raley's on Tracy Boulevard in the south of town, the elevation was above 70 feet. But the farther north he drove on Tracy Boulevard, the lower the elevation.

"It depends on where in Tracy you are," he said.

He reported 67 feet above sea level at Tracy Boulevard and Schulte Road, and 29 feet by the water tower outside the Boyd Service Center near Sixth Street. Which fits nicely with what Sam found out in his most recent column, even if the specifics are off.

Riddle insists his GPS is accurate to a T. He said that, when he compares it to official elevation signs in the mountains, the device "is right on the money."

We'll let Sam take over on this one and figure out how high the town.