The only state that produces almonds commercially is California, where cool winter and mild springs let almond trees bloom. Eighty-two percent of the world’s almonds come from California. #

Almonds use approximately 10 percent of California’s water reserves. This year, water regulators restricted urban water to combat the region’s drought, even though cities account for only 20 percent of state water consumption. #

Almonds recently overtook peanuts as the most-eaten “nut” (seed, technically) in the United States, and Americans now consume more than 10 times as many almonds as we did in 1965. #

A man displays an almond in Paso Robles, California April 20, 2015. With the country's most populous state entering the fourth year of a devastating drought, Governor Jerry Brown has ordered an overall 25 percent cut in urban water use though the first statewide mandatory reductions in California's history. The suppliers with the highest per capita water use would have to accept a 36 percent cut. Meanwhile, environmentalists and some urban dwellers say the state's $45 billion agriculture industry should bear a greater share of water savings, given its massive water use. #

Thousands of endangered king salmon in northern California’s Klamath River are threatened by low water levels because water is being diverted to almond farms. If more water is not released, the fish will be susceptible to gill rot. #