Suisun Bay ( ;
Wintun
The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152[tidal 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 ...]
(a northeastern extension of the
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) 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 cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
) in
Northern California
Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California, spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's List of counties in California, 58 counties. Northern Ca ...
. It lies at the confluence of the
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River () 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–San Joaquin River D ...
and
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River ( ; ) 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 Suisun Bay, San Francis ...
, forming the entrance to the
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta, or California Delta, is an expansive inland river delta and estuary in Central California and Northern California
Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal) is a geocultural region that ...
, an
inverted river delta
An inverted river delta is a river delta in which the narrow end of the delta emerges on the seafront and the wide end is located further inland, so that with respect to the seafront, the locations of both ends of the delta are inverted.
Explanat ...
. To the west, Suisun Bay is drained by the
Carquinez Strait
The Carquinez Strait (; Spanish: ''Estrecho de Carquinez'') is a narrow tidal strait located in the Bay Area of Northern California, United States. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain int ...
, which connects to
San Pablo Bay
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of the 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 wate ...
, a northern extension of
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) 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 cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
.
Grizzly Bay
Grizzly Bay is a baylet of the San Francisco Bay, and an extension of Suisun Bay, which dips into Solano County, California
Solano County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United St ...
forms a northern extension of Suisun Bay. Suisun Bay is between
Contra Costa County
Contra Costa County (; ''Contra Costa'', Spanish language, Spanish for 'Opposite Coast') is a U.S. county, county located in the U.S. state of California, in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2020 United States census, the ...
to the south and
Solano County
Solano County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 453,491. The county seat is Fairfield.
Solano County comprises the Vallejo–Fairfield metropolitan statistical area, which is a ...
to the north.
The bay was named in 1811 after the
Suisunes The Suisunes (also called the Suisun and the "People of the West Wind") were a Patwin tribe of Wintun people, originating in the Suisun Bay and Suisun Marsh regions of Solano County in Northern California. Their traditional homelands stretched bet ...
, a
Patwin
The Patwin (also Patween and Southern Wintu) are a band of Wintun people in Northern California. The Patwin comprise the southern branch of the Wintun group, native inhabitants of California since approximately 500.
Today, Patwin people are en ...
tribe of
Wintun
The Wintun are members of several related Native American peoples of Northern California, including the Wintu (northern), Nomlaki (central), and Patwin (southern).Pritzker, 152[Central Pacific Railroad
The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete most of the western part of the "First transcontinental railroad" in North Americ ...]
built a train ferry that operated between
Benicia
Benicia ( , ) is a city in Solano County, California, located on the north bank of the Carquinez Strait in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. ...
and
Port Costa, California
Port Costa is a small town and census-designated place (CDP) in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, located in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Situated on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait ...
, from 1879 to 1930. The ferry boats ''Solano'' and ''Contra Costa'' were removed from service when the nearby Martinez railroad bridge was completed in 1930. From 1913 until 1954 the
Sacramento Northern Railway
The Sacramento Northern Railway (reporting mark SN) was a electric interurban railway that connected Chico, California, Chico in northern California with Oakland, California, Oakland via the state capital, Sacramento, California, Sacramento. In ...
, an
electrified
Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
interurban
The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...
line, crossed Suisun Bay with the ''Ramon'', a distillate-powered
train ferry
A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry Railroad car, railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with Track (rail transport), railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the f ...
.
On April 28, 2004, a petroleum pipeline operated by
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP () (KMEP) is a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, Inc. The company, which is classified as an oil and gas master limited partnership (MLP), owns or operates petroleum product, natural gas, and carbon dioxide pipelines, r ...
ruptured, initially reported as spilling 1,500 barrels (264m³) of diesel fuel in the marshes, but, this was later updated to about 2,950 barrels. Kinder Morgan pleaded guilty to operating a corroded pipeline (and cited for failing to notify authorities quickly after the spill was discovered) and paid three million dollars in penalties and restitution.
Geography
Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet
The bay was the anchorage of the
Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet
The Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet colloquially known as the mothball fleet, is located on the northwest side of Suisun Bay (the northern portion of the greater San Francisco Bay estuary) in Benicia, California. The fleet is within a regulated navig ...
, a part of the US Navy Mothball or Ghost Fleet,
a collection of
U.S. Navy and merchant reserve ships which was created in the period following
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The ''
USNS Glomar Explorer'' was anchored here after recovering parts of a sunken Soviet submarine in the mid-1970s (see
Project Azorian
Project Azorian (also called "Jennifer" by the press after its Top Secret Security Compartment) was a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) project to recover the sunken Soviet submarine ''K-129'' from the Pacific Ocean floor in 1974 using the ...
). Many ships were removed and sold for scrap in the 1990s. In 2010, plans were announced to remove the oldest remaining parts of the Suisun Bay mothball fleet in stages. The last of the 57 ships in the old Mothball Fleet were removed in August 2017. There are still a number of naval ships in Suisun Bay. Most are part of the
Military Sealift Command
The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all U ...
Ready Reserve Fleet
The National Defense Reserve Fleet (NDRF) consists of ships of the United States, mostly merchant vessels, that have been mothballed but can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping during national military emergencies, or non-mil ...
.
See also
*
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay (Chochenyo language, Chochenyo: 'ommu) 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 cities of San Francisco, California, San ...
*
Grizzly Bay
Grizzly Bay is a baylet of the San Francisco Bay, and an extension of Suisun Bay, which dips into Solano County, California
Solano County () is a county (United States), county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United St ...
*
Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel
California’s Green Trade Corridor, is part of the Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel
Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel, also called the Baldwin-Stockton Deepwater Shipping Channel or Stockton Deep Water Channel, is a manmade deepwater wat ...
*
Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel
The Sacramento Deep Water Ship Channel (also known as Sacramento River Deep Water Ship Channel or SRDWSC) is a canal from the Port of Sacramento in West Sacramento, California, to the Sacramento River, which flows into San Francisco Bay. It was ...
References
External links
Kinder Morgan Information Regarding Pipeline Release*
{{Authority control
Bays of California
Bays of San Francisco Bay
Bays of Contra Costa County, California
Bodies of water of Solano County, California
Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta
San Joaquin River
Tributaries of San Pablo Bay
Carquinez Strait
Landforms of the San Francisco Bay Area
Subregions of the San Francisco Bay Area
Ship graveyards