San Francisco Bay
Golden Gate's inlet
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary on the central California coast, connected to the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate strait.
The bay and its surrounding metropolitan area—often called simply "the Bay Area"—encompass San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and numerous smaller cities, forming one of the most populous and economically significant regions in the United States.
The bay itself is a major shipping hub and ecological resource, though its shores have been extensively developed and filled over time.
Famous California suspension crossing
- Alcatraz IslandHistoric prison in bay
- Fisherman's WharfFamous harborside tourist zone
- Pier 39San Francisco tourist wharf
- cable carsWire-pulled transit vehicles
Tidal mixing zone
- tidalOf sea rhythms
- shorelineLand-water boundary
- wetlandsWater-saturated terrain
- marshesWaterlogged land with grasses
saltwater · intertidal · marine · ecosystem · habitat · sediment · seagrass · eelgrass
Bay Area tech corridor
- ChinatownAsian immigrant neighborhood
- Haight-AshburyCounterculture crossroads in San Francisco
- Beat GenerationFifties literary counterculture movement
- tech industryComputing and software businesses
diversity · LGBTQ history · innovation · Gold Rush · waterfront · sourdough bread · Dungeness crab · Giants
Golden Gate Bridge
Famous California suspension crossing
- Alcatraz IslandHistoric prison in bay
- Fisherman's WharfFamous harborside tourist zone
- Pier 39San Francisco tourist wharf
cable cars · Treasure Island · Bay Bridge · sea lions · Sausalito
estuary
Tidal mixing zone
marshes · saltwater · intertidal · marine · ecosystem · habitat · sediment · seagrass · eelgrass · mudflats
Silicon Valley
Bay Area tech corridor
- ChinatownAsian immigrant neighborhood
- Haight-AshburyCounterculture crossroads in San Francisco
- Beat GenerationFifties literary counterculture movement
tech industry · diversity · LGBTQ history · innovation · Gold Rush · waterfront · sourdough bread · Dungeness crab · Giants · 49ers
marine layer
Low ocean-born cloud cover
chill · damp · shroud · veil · foghorn · visibility · enveloped · rolling in · burn off · bay breeze
- Bays and GulfsBay of Fundy, Gulf of Mexico, Tampa Bay, Monterey Bay, Chesapeake Bay
- Western USCalifornia, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Utah
- natural harborsSydney Harbour, Pearl Harbor, Boston Harbor, Tokyo Bay, Chesapeake Bay
- Pacific BaysSan Diego Bay, Monterey Bay
- San Francisco BayGolden Gate, Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, Alcatraz Island, Treasure Island
- Bay Area WatersSouth Bay, Golden Gate
San Francisco BayPacific Ocean
Largest body of water
open ocean · Atlantic Ocean · river · Mississippi River · Amazon River
San Francisco BayDeath Valley
Below-sea-level California desert
Mojave Desert · Sahara Desert · Sierra Nevada · Rocky Mountains · Great Plains
San Francisco BayChesapeake Bay
Mid-Atlantic tidal estuary
New York Harbor · Boston Harbor · Tampa Bay · Puget Sound · Gulf of Mexico
franc, San Francisco, Franciscan, francophone, Francisco, francophile