San Rafael Bay is an embayment of

San Pablo Bay San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Most of the Bay is shallow; however, there is a deep water c ...

, located in

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is a ...

and the northern

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

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 ...

.TopoQuest map
USGS, retrieved July 6, 2008

Geography

San Pablo Bay is the northern

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a nar ...

section of the larger

San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the United States, U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, California, San Jose, and Oakland, Ca ...

, in the North Bay region. San Rafael Bay is located along the Marin County coast, adjacent to the City of San Rafael. The

Marin Islands The Marin Islands are two small islands, named East Marin and West Marin, in San Rafael Bay, an embayment of San Pablo Bay in Marin County, California, Marin County, California. Geography The Marin Islands are located offshore from the San Rafa ...

are within bay. The

river mouth A river mouth is where a river flows into a larger body of water, such as another river, a lake/reservoir, a bay/ gulf, a sea, or an ocean. At the river mouth, sediments are often deposited due to the slowing of the current reducing the carryin ...

and

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

San Rafael Creek San Rafael Creek is a watercourse in Marin County, California, United States that discharges to San Rafael Bay, a small embayment of the San Francisco Bay. The mouth of San Rafael Creek is a channelized estuary through an industrial area. San Raf ...

is located at its shoreline.

References

Bays of San Francisco Bay San Pablo Bay Bays of Marin County, California Landforms of the San Francisco Bay Area San Rafael, California Bays of California {{MarinCountyCA-geo-stub

Geography

See also

References