The Twin Peaks are two prominent hills with an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

of about located near the geographic center of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The Twin Peaks are the second and third highest natural points in San Francisco; only Mount Davidson is higher within city limits.San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (2006)
"Twin Peaks"
, section 6.8 o
''Significant Natural Resources Areas Management Plan''
. Retrieved April 21, 2007.

Location and climate

Twin Peaks, along with Mount Davidson and

Mount Sutro Mount Sutro is a hill in central San Francisco, California. It was originally named Mount Parnassus. Geography The low mountain is in elevation. Mount Sutro is one of the List of San Francisco, California Hills, many named hills within San Fran ...

, create a rugged landscape in the center of San Francisco which influences microclimates in the city. The mountain acts as a natural barrier against summer fog for the city's eastern neighborhoods. The North and South Twin Peaks, also known as "Eureka" and "Noe", are about apart. The peaks form a divide for the summer coastal fog pushed in from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Their west-facing slopes often get fog and strong winds, while the east-facing slopes receive more sun and warmth. Elevation at each summit is just over . Thin, sandy soil is commonplace on Twin Peaks, making them susceptible to erosion. On rare occasions, Twin Peaks has had a dusting of snow. On February 5, 1976, it received several inches of snow.

History

Early history

Before the arrival of the Europeans, the native

Ohlone The Ohlone ( ), formerly known as Costanoans (from Spanish meaning 'coast dweller'), are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the l ...

people may have used Twin Peaks as a lookout or hunting ground.http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/recpark/volunteer/Community_Catalyst_Newsletters/brochure_web%281%29.pdf ''sfgov.org''

18th and 19th centuries

When the

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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

and settlers arrived at the beginning of the 18th century, they called the area "Los Pechos de la Chola" or "Breasts of the Indian Maiden" and devoted the area to ranching. When San Francisco passed under American control during the 19th century, it was renamed "Twin Peaks".

21st century

In 2016 the SFMTA introduced a traffic calming pilot to reduce the amount of space allocated to cars and make the summit area more inviting to a wider range of travel modes. The "figure 8" roadway around the two peaks was reduced to a two-way road on the western side of the peaks, with the east side designated for pedestrians and bikes only. In 2025 construction will begin to rebuild the east side as a wide promenade, following improvements to the Noe Peak trail and the trail down to Crestline Drive. Twin Peaks Blvd closure pedestrian road

Attractions

Christmas Tree Point lies some below the North Peak and offers vistas of San Francisco and

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 ...

. The view to the north extends no farther than Cobb Mountain () away, but looking southeast down the

Santa Clara Valley The Santa Clara Valley (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Valle de Santa Clara'') is a geologic trough in Northern California that extends south–southeast from San Francisco to Hollister, California, Hollister. The longitudinal valley is bordered ...

on a clear day, Santa Ana Mountain is just visible away. To the north is one of the city's many

reservoirs A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of water, interrup ...

. It is owned by the San Francisco Fire Department, and supplies water to the Fire Department's independent HPFS water system for fighting fires, established after the 1906 earthquake and fire. The top of Twin Peaks is undeveloped. It is part of the Twin Peaks Natural Area,Southeastern Natural Areas
Natural Area Program, San Francisco Recreation & Park. managed and owned by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. These preserved areas are home to many natural resources and wildlife. As part of the Mission blue butterfly habitat conservation, Twin Peaks is one of the few remaining habitats for this endangered species. Many bird species, insects and vegetation thrive in these areas. The

Muni Metro Muni Metro is a light rail system serving San Francisco, California, United States. Operated by the San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni), a part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), Muni's light rail lines saw an aver ...

Twin Peaks Tunnel The Twin Peaks Tunnel is a light rail/streetcar tunnel in San Francisco, California. The tunnel runs under Twin Peaks (San Francisco), Twin Peaks and is used by the K Ingleside, L Taraval, M Ocean View and S Shuttle lines of the Muni Metro sys ...

runs beneath Twin Peaks, linking downtown San Francisco with West Portal and the southwestern part of the city. There is no public transportation all the way to the top of the Peaks, but the 37 Corbett Muni line stops on Crestline Drive near a path up the hill. The name "Twin Peaks" is also applied to the surrounding neighborhood.

Education

The San Francisco Unified School District operates the

Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts The Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts, colloquially referred to as SOTA, is a State school, public Alternative school, alternative high school in San Francisco, California, United States. It was established in 1982 and is part of the ...

in the Twin Peaks neighborhood. The closest SFUSD school to the top of Twin Peaks is Rooftop.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Hills of San Francisco Landmarks in San Francisco Culture of San Francisco Mountains of the San Francisco Bay Area Neighborhoods in San Francisco