SAN FRANCISCO BAY
www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com
The San Francisco Bay is located on the northern coast of California. It is both a bay and a shallow estuarine system that encompasses approximately 1,600 square miles (4,144 km2). The estuary is located to the north within San Pablo Bay, Suisun Bay and the Delta. The estuary and delta drain approximately forty percent of the total land area of California, providing water to 22 million Californians and irrigating 4.5 million acres (1.82 million ha) of farmland.
San Francisco Bay is surrounded by densely populated urban cities such as San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose. The Golden Gate connects the Pacific Ocean to the bay and is spanned by the world famous Golden Gate Bridge. Numerous state parks, protected areas and wildlife refuges have been established. There are five large inland islands in the bay including the well-known Alcatraz Island and Angel Island.
Discovered by the Spanish in 1769, the bay has been host to numerous military instillations and ship manufacturing sites. Many of these old forts, battery installments, and missile sites can be seen today. The most notable of which is the Presidio in San Francisco.
Official Partners:
The San Francisco Estuary Partnership http://www.sfestuary.org
Natural environment | Human environment |
| Coastline: Rocky with submarine fault of techtonic origin | Language: English - Primary Spanish - Prevalent Mandarin - Prevalent |
| Climate: Mediterranean Climate (cool, foggy summers and mild, rainy winters) | Local economy : technology, banking, real estate, shipping, agriculture |
| Temperatures: Annual average : 14.7° C (varies from inland to coast) Annual amplitude : between 8° C and 23° C | Demography: Population (inhab.) : 7,150,000 Density (inhab/km2) : 395.29 |
| Precipitations: Annual : 561.34 mm Distribution :max. November-March | Human Development Index: Bay Area : 3.07 – 9.35 |
| Biogeographic classification: Coastal Chaparral forest and Shrub, Redwood forest, woodlands and Temperate coniferous forest | Ecological Footprint: USA : 8 hectares per person |
| Natural heritage: Fauna : migrant birds, birds (terns, owls, rails), fish (salmon, trout, bass), mammals (beavers) Flora : Coast Live Oak, Redwood, many endangered and endemic species Cultural heritage: Native Americans, Spanish missionaries (18th), 1849 gold rush, architecture, historical military install-ments. Coastal management: CA Coastal Commission - (http://www.coastal.ca.gov/ ) Bay Conservation and Development Commission - (http://www.bcdc.ca.gov ) Criteria retained by the club: BN 1 : Geological process (submarine fault) ; BC 4 : Historical constructions (Wooden houses, cable cars, Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, Treasure Island, Alcatraz) | |
