Rio Vista (Spanish: Río Vista, meaning "River View") is a city located in the eastern end of Solano County, California, in the Sacramento River Delta region of Northern California.

The present location of Rio Vista town center is several miles south of the original settlement.

Colonel Nathan H. Davis founded "Brazos del Rio" near the entrance of Cache Slough at the Sacramento River, on the Rancho Los Ulpinos Mexican land grant, in 1858.

The settlement was renamed "Rio Vista" before a flood in 1862 that resulted in the town moving to its present location on higher ground.

The facility was initially established as a base for river control activities by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The town also hosts a United States Coast Guard station, established in 1963.

[13] Rio Vista was visited by a lost humpback whale in 1985, despite being 60 miles (97 kilometers) up the Sacramento River from the Pacific Ocean.

The young whale, nicknamed "Humphrey", attracted throngs of curiosity seekers before he was eventually guided back to sea by rescuers.

The Army Reserve Unit (481st Transportation Company (Heavy Boat)) was activated to use their vessels (Landing Craft Utility (LCU)) to assist in the guiding of Humphrey back to the sea.

"Delta" and "Dawn," mother and calf, stopped at least twice in the river near the town.

In 2018, a group of investors called Flannery Associates, a subsidiary of California Forever, began purchasing most of the land surrounding Rio Vista and suing those refusing to sell Flannery their land for "constraint of trade.

When Amerada sold out to Sheridan Energy another buy out would soon take shape by Calpine Natural Gas.

Next buyer was Vintage Petroleum who sold out to and currently running operations California Resources Corporation as of 2022.

Rio Vista is home to the largest American producer of Belgian Endive[20] in the United States.

Craig Breedlove, five-time world land speed record holder, lived in and had an engineering facility in the city.