Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/San Francisco Bay

SAN FRANCISCO BAY, a land-locked arm of the Pacific Ocean, on the coast of California. It is the finest bay on the W. coast of the United States; is connected with the Pacific Ocean by a strait called the Golden Gate; extends S. by S. W.; washes the shores of Alameda and Contra Costa counties, and reaches from Sonoma co. to Alviso. Including San Pablo at its N. point, it is 55 miles long. It varies in breadth from 3 to 12 miles. The shores of the Golden Gate are bold and rocky, rising on the N. to nearly 200 feet; on the S. the hills are sand-covered, 300 to 400 feet high. The bar has a depth of 30 feet of water at low tide; within it is much deeper. There are several islands, including Alcatraz, 4 miles from the entrance, Angel, and Yerba Buena, or Goat. The entrance is defended by fortifications on Alcatraz Island and Fort Point S. of the Golden Gate. The bay is connected N. by a strait, 3 miles wide, with San Pablo Bay about 10 miles across, and nearly circular, and this again is connected by Carquinez Strait, 1 mile wide, with Suisun Bay, 8 miles long, and 4 miles wide. Both these bays are deep, but Carquinez Strait has only 16 feet of water at low tide. This bay is large enough to float all the navies of Europe at once.