San Francisco, California

: San Francisco redirects here. For other uses, see San Francisco (disambiguation).

Geography and climate

See also: Maps of San Francisco, California

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San Francisco lies near the San Andreas Fault; a major source of earthquake activity in California. The most serious earthquake, in 1906, is mentioned above. Earlier significant quakes rocked the city in 1851, 1858, 1865, and 1868. The Daly City Earthquake of 1957 caused some damage. The Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which also did significant damage to parts of the city, is also famous for having interrupted a World Series baseball game between the Bay Area's two Major League Baseball teams, the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Athletics.

Related Topics:
San Andreas Fault - Earthquake - 1906 - 1851 - 1858 - 1865 - 1868 - Daly City - 1957 - Loma Prieta earthquake - 1989 - World Series - Major League Baseball - San Francisco Giants - Oakland Athletics

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The threat of another major earthquake like the 1906 one plays a major role in the city's infrastructure development. New buildings must be built to very high structural standards, while many dollars must be spent to retrofit the city's older buildings and bridges.

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Entire neighborhoods of the city such as the Marina and Hunters Point were created and sit on man made landfill (made up of mud, sand, and rubble from past earthquakes) and other reclamation projects over the San Francisco Bay when flatland became scarce. Such land is extremely unstable during earthquakes; the resultant liquefaction during earthquakes causes extensive damage to property built upon it, as was evidenced in the Marina district during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

Related Topics:
Marina - Hunters Point - Landfill - San Francisco Bay - Liquefaction

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The most impressive example of an "infill neighborhood" is Treasure Island, which was constructed entirely from material dredged from the Bay as a site for the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair. It was originally envisioned that Treasure Island would serve as the site for San Franciso's municipal airport, but it became a Navy base at the start of World War II. In 1997 Treasure Island was returned to the city and it provides a unique vantage point to view the San Francisco skyline.

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San Francisco is famous for its hills. A "Hill" in San Francisco, is an elevation that is over 100 ft (30 Meters). There are a total of 42 hills within city limits. Some of these hills are neighborhoods such as Nob Hill, Pacific Heights, Russian Hill, and Telegraph Hill, while some of these hills are public parks and open space such as Twin Peaks, Mt. Sutro, Mt. Davidson, and Buena Vista Park.

Related Topics:
Nob Hill - Pacific Heights - Russian Hill - Telegraph Hill - Twin Peaks - Mt. Sutro - Mt. Davidson - Buena Vista Park

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Near the geographic center of the city and away from the downtown area are a series of less populated hills. Dominating this area is Mount Sutro, which is the site of Sutro Tower, a large red and white radio transmission tower, that is a well known landmark to city residents. Nearby are the equally well known Twin Peaks, which are a pair of hills resting at one of the city's highest points. About 1.2km (1 mile) south of Mount Sutro is San Francisco's highest mountain, Mount Davidson, which is over 282 meters (over 925 feet) high. On top of Mount Davidson is a 31.4 meter (103 foot) tall cross built in 1934.

Related Topics:
Sutro Tower - Twin Peaks

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Not to be missed are the beautiful homes and area of the city known as Pacific Heights as well as victorians in the Haight-Ashbury and the "painted ladies" of Alamo Square and the Castro. San Francisco is also famous for its Cable cars (narrow gauge, 1067 mm (3'6")), which were designed to carry residents up those steep hills. It is still possible to take a cable car ride up and down Nob and Russian Hills. Along with New Orleans' streetcars, San Francisco's cable cars are one of only two mobile United States National Monuments. Coit Tower, a notable landmark dedicated to San Francisco's firefighters, is located at the top of Telegraph Hill.

Related Topics:
Pacific Heights - Haight-Ashbury - Painted ladies - Alamo Square - The Castro - Cable car - Narrow gauge - National Monuments - Coit Tower

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Climate

Surrounded on three sides by water, San Francisco's climate is strongly influenced by the cool currents of the Pacific Ocean. The weather is remarkably mild all year round, with a so-called Mediterranean climate characterized by cool, foggy summers and relatively warm winters; average daily high temperatures in the summer typically range from the upper 60's to mid 70's (15-22 degrees Celsius), while in the winter it virtually never reaches freezing. Rain in the summer is extremely rare, but winters are very rainy. Snow is very rare. The Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the city is particularly cold year round. The combination of cold ocean water and the high heat of the California mainland creates the city's charisteristic foggy weather that covers the western half of the city in fog all day during the summer and early fall, as well as the rest of the San Francisco metropolitan area as far as 35-50 miles inland in overcast and fog. Thus, the summer temperatures are significantly lower in San Francisco than in other parts of inland California. The fog is less pronounced during the month of September & October and during the late spring, which is generally the warmest, most summer-like months of the year.

Related Topics:
Pacific Ocean - Mediterranean climate

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In January, morning lows average 46 °F (8 °C) and afternoon highs average 58 °F (14 °C). In August, lows average 56 °F (13 °C) and highs average 72 °F (22 °C). San Francisco receives an average of 22.28 inches (56.6 cm) of precipitation annually with July and August being almost completely free of precipitation.

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According to the United States Census Bureau, the city and county has a total area of 600.7 km² (231.9 mi²). 120.9 km² (46.7 mi²) of it is land and 479.7 km² (185.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 79.86% water. The city itself is often reputed to be roughly a seven mile by seven mile square, but in fact it is slightly smaller, 46.7 mi², of which .33 mi² are the Farallon Islands.

Related Topics:
United States Census Bureau - Km² - Mi² - Farallon Islands

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The geographical center of the city is on the east side of Grandview Avenue between Alvarado and Twenty-third Streets.

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Neighborhoods

Main article: Neighborhoods in San Francisco, California

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Like many large cities in the US, San Francisco has a Japantown and Chinatown; both are among the largest and oldest in the US. It also boasts a budding Vietnamese community in the Tenderloin neighborhood, Filipinos in Crocker Amazon and South of Market, an Italian community in North Beach, a French Quarter, an Irish and Russian community in the Richmond District. The predominantly Hispanic Mission District is the oldest neighborhood, as it was the site of Mission Dolores which was established in 1776. Russian Hill is probably most noted for the top end of that portion of Lombard Street that is sometimes referred to as "the crookedest street in the world". Haight-Ashbury gained prominence during the 1960s for its prominent concentration of hippies during the "Summer of Love." The Castro neigborhood has the world's highest concentration of homosexuals. The City's African American population is concentrated in the southeastern Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods. The Richmond, on the west side of the city and North of Golden Gate Park, is predominantly Asian.

Related Topics:
Japantown - Chinatown - Tenderloin - South of Market - North Beach - French Quarter - Richmond District - Hispanic - Mission District - Mission Dolores - Russian Hill - Lombard Street - Haight-Ashbury - 1960s - Hippie - The Castro - Homosexuals - African American - Bayview - Hunters Point - Richmond

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Arguably, the point of gravity in terms of demographic and land use change is moving east & south. The South of Market neighborhood was one of the epicenters of the dot-com boom of the 1990s thus being a showcase of contemporary urban development. A new neighborhood is being developed at the far eastern end of South of Market that is being called Mission Bay. The cornerstone of this development is the new SBC Park baseball stadium and an extension of the University of California, San Francisco medical school.

Related Topics:
South of Market - Mission Bay - SBC Park - University of California, San Francisco

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Parks

Main article: Parks in San Francisco, California

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The best-known, as well as biggest, park is Golden Gate Park which is 174 acres larger than New York's Central Park. Another notable park is The Presidio, which is just one part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which also includes Alcatraz. Buena Vista Park located in the Haight-Ashbury, is the city's oldest, established in 1867. A large fresh-water lake, Lake Merced, is located in the south west corner of the city near San Francisco State University and Fort Funston.

Related Topics:
Golden Gate Park - Central Park - The Presidio - Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Alcatraz - Buena Vista Park - Haight-Ashbury - 1867 - Fresh-water - Lake Merced - San Francisco State University - Fort Funston

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San Francisco also contains many public beaches such as Baker beach and Ocean Beach.

Related Topics:
Baker beach - Ocean Beach

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