The Golden Gate is a
strait on the west coast of North America that connects
San Francisco Bay to the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...
.
It is defined by the headlands of the
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alt ...
and the
Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by the
Golden Gate Bridge. The entire shoreline and adjacent waters throughout the strait are managed by the
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the United ...
.
Geology
During the
last ice age, when sea level was several hundred feet lower, the waters of the glacier-fed
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River ( es, Río Sacramento) is the principal river of Northern California in the United States and is the largest river in California. Rising in the Klamath Mountains, the river flows south for before reaching the Sacramento� ...
and the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
scoured a deep channel through the bedrock on their way to the ocean. (A similar process created the undersea
Hudson Canyon
The Hudson Canyon is a submarine canyon that begins from the shallow outlet of the estuary at the mouth of the Hudson River. It extends out over seaward across the continental shelf finally connecting to the deep ocean basin at a depth of 3 to ...
off the coast of
New York and
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
.) The strait is well known today for its depth and powerful tidal currents from the Pacific Ocean. Many small
whirlpools
A whirlpool is a body of rotating water produced by opposing currents or a current running into an obstacle. Small whirlpools form when a bath or a sink is draining. More powerful ones formed in seas or oceans may be called maelstroms ( ). ''Vo ...
and
eddies can form in its waters. With its strong currents, rocky
reefs
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes—deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
and
fog, the Golden Gate is the site of
over 100 shipwrecks.
Climate
The Golden Gate is often shrouded in
coastal fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily infl ...
, especially during the summer. Heat generated in the
California Central Valley causes air there to rise, creating a low pressure area that pulls in cool, moist air from over the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate forms the largest break in the hills of the
California Coast Range
The Coast Ranges of California span from Del Norte or Humboldt County, California, south to Santa Barbara County. The other three coastal California mountain ranges are the Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges and the Klamath Mountains.
Phy ...
, allowing a persistent, dense stream of fog to enter the bay there.
Although there is no weather station on Golden Gate proper, the area has a
mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
''Csb'') with very narrow temperature fluctuations, cool summers and mild winters. For the nearest weather station see the weatherbox of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. The Golden Gate Bridge being nearer the ocean and at elevation indicate it being cooler during summer days. Nearer the San Francisco urban core, the temperatures resemble the official
NOAA weather station instead.
History
Before Europeans arrived in the 18th century the area around the strait and the bay was inhabited by
Native Americans - the
Ohlone people to the south and
Coast Miwok
Coast Miwok are an indigenous people that was the second-largest group of Miwok people. Coast Miwok inhabited the general area of modern Marin County and southern Sonoma County in Northern California, from the Golden Gate north to Duncans Poi ...
to the north. Descendants of both tribes remain in the area.
The opening to the strait was surprisingly elusive for early European explorers, presumably due to persistent summer fog. The strait is not recorded in the voyages of
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo nor
Francis Drake, both of whom may have explored the nearby coast in the 16th century in search of the fabled
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the Arc ...
. The strait is also unrecorded in observations by
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
galleon
Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships first used as armed cargo carriers by European states from the 16th to 18th centuries during the age of sail and were the principal vessels drafted for use as warships until the Anglo-Dutch W ...
s on the
Manila-Acapulco run from the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
that laid up in nearby
Drakes Bay
Drakes Bay (Coast Miwok: ''Tamál-Húye'') is a wide bay named so by U.S. surveyor George Davidson in 1875 along the Point Reyes National Seashore on the coast of northern California in the United States, approximately northwest of San Fra ...
to the north. These rarely passed east of the
Farallon Islands ( west of the Golden Gate), for fear of the possibility of rocks between the islands and the mainland.
The first recorded observation of the strait occurred nearly two hundred years later than the earliest European explorations of the coast. In 1769, Sgt
José Francisco Ortega José Francisco Ortega (1734 – February 1798) was an indigenous Californio soldier and early settler of Alta California. He joined the military at the age of twenty-one and rose to the rank of sergeant by the time he joined the Portola expedition ...
, the leader of a scouting party sent north along the
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alt ...
by Don
Gaspar de Portolá
Gaspar de Portolá y Rovira (January 1, 1716 – October 10, 1786) was a Spanish military officer, best known for leading the Portolá expedition into California and for serving as the first Governor of the Californias. His expedition laid the ...
from their expedition encampment in San Pedro Valley to locate the
Point Reyes
Point Reyes (, meaning "Point of the Kings") is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Located in Marin County, it is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often appli ...
headlands, reported back to Portolá that he could not reach the location because of the existence of the strait. On August 5, 1775
Juan de Ayala
Juan Manuel de Ayala y Aranza (28 December 1745 – 30 December 1797) was a Spanish naval officer who played a significant role in the European exploration of California, since he and the crew of his ship the ''San Carlos'' are the first European ...
and the crew of his ship ''San Carlos'' became the first Europeans known to have passed through the strait, anchoring in a cove behind
Angel Island, the cove now named in Ayala's honor. Until the 1840s, the strait was called the "Boca del Puerto de San Francisco" ("Mouth of the Port of San Francisco"). On July 1, 1846, before the discovery of
gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...
in
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, the entrance acquired a new name. In his memoirs,
John C. Frémont wrote, "To this Gate I gave the name of 'Chrysopylae', or 'Golden Gate'; for the same reasons that the harbor of
Byzantium was called Chrysoceras, or
Golden Horn
The Golden Horn ( tr, Altın Boynuz or ''Haliç''; grc, Χρυσόκερας, ''Chrysókeras''; la, Sinus Ceratinus) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with t ...
." He went on to comment that the strait was “a golden gate to trade with the Orient.”
Gallery
File:Golden Gate from Lands End, San Francisco c1895.jpg, The Golden Gate as seen from off "Land's End" in Lincoln Park on the Northwest tip of the San Francisco Peninsula c. 1895.
File:San Francisco Golden Gate.jpg, San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate
File:Passing Through the Golden Gate, by William A. Coulter.jpg, Passing Through the Golden Gate, by William A. Coulter
File:Golden Gate, San Francisco, Calif (NYPL b12647398-66475).tiff, Postcard of the Golden Gate, c. 1898-1904
1920s
The U.S. Post Office issued a
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the f ...
on May 1, 1923, celebrating ''The Golden Gate'', portraying the schooner
USS ''Babcock'' passing through an empty strait. The ''Babcock'' served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919, with San Francisco as its port of call.
Golden Gate Bridge
In 1933 construction began on the
Golden Gate Bridge, a
suspension bridge connecting the city of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
on the northern tip of the
San Francisco Peninsula
The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Mountain View, south of Palo Alt ...
to
Marin County. Today it is part of both
US Highway 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
and
California Route 1
State Route 1 (SR 1) is a major north–south state highway that runs along most of the Pacific coastline of the U.S. state of California. At , it is the longest state route in California, and the second-longest in the US after Montana ...
.
The Bridge was the
longest suspension bridge span in the world when completed in 1937, and is an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and the state of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. Since its completion the span has been surpassed by eighteen other bridges, and remains second longest in the United States, after the
Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge ( ) is a suspension bridge connecting the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn. It spans the Narrows, a body of water linking the relatively enclosed New York Harbor with Lower New York Bay and t ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. In 2007, it was ranked fifth on the ''
List of America's Favorite Architecture'' by the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
.
Navigation
The Golden Gate strait serves as the primary access channel for navigation to and from the San Francisco Bay, one of the largest cargo ports in the United States. Commercial ports includes the
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland is a major container ship facility located in Oakland, California, in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. As of 2011 it was the f ...
, the
Port of Richmond
The Port of Richmond, also known as the Richmond Deepwater Terminal, is located on the James River in Richmond, Virginia, United States, inland from Cape Henry and approximately northwest of Newport News, Virginia. It is located at 77° 2 ...
, and the
Port of San Francisco
The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Supervisors. Th ...
. Commercial cargo ships use the Golden Gate to access the San Francisco Bay, as well as barges, tankers, fishing boats, cruise ships, and privately owned boats, including wind-surfers and kite-boards. About 9000 ships moved through the Golden Gate in 2014, and a similar amount in 2015. The U.S Coast Guard maintains a
Vessel Traffic Service to monitor and regulate vessel traffic through the Golden Gate.
For navigational guidance, there are white and green lights on the center of the span of the Golden Gate Bridge. Lighthouses with beacons and
foghorns
A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. Wh ...
provide alerts at
Point Bonita
Point Bonita Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at Point Bonita at the San Francisco Bay entrance in the Marin Headlands near Sausalito, California. Point Bonita was the last manned lighthouse on the California coast. It was added to the National ...
,
Point Diablo,
Lime Point and
Mile Rocks. Before the Golden Gate Bridge was built, a lighthouse protected the south side of the strait at
Fort Point. Buoys and radar reflectors provide additional navigational aid at various locations throughout the strait.
See also
*
Golden Gate, Oakland, California, a neighborhood
*
Golden Gate Bridge, which extends across the Golden Gate strait
*
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the United ...
, a national park in the San Francisco Bay Area
*
Golden Gate Park in San Francisco
References
External links
National Park Service: Discovery of the Golden GateGolden Gate 360 Image (QTVR)Golden Gate 360 Image (Java)*
ttps://vimeo.com/69445362 Adrift time-lapse video by Simon Christen of fog pouring over the
Marin Headlands and through the Golden Gate
{{Authority control
Bodies of water of Marin County, California
Bodies of water of San Francisco
Straits of California
San Francisco Bay