The San Francisco Bay Area Portal![]() ![]() The San Francisco Bay Area (referred to locally as the Bay Area) is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses the major cities and metropolitan areas of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland, along with smaller urban and rural areas. The Bay Area's nine counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Home to approximately 7.68 million people, the nine-county Bay Area contains many cities, towns, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks, connected by a network of roads, highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels, and commuter rail. The combined statistical area of the region is the second-largest in California (after the Greater Los Angeles area), the fifth-largest in the United States, and the 43rd-largest urban area in the world with 8.80 million people. The Bay Area has the second-most Fortune 500 companies in the United States, after the New York metropolitan area, and is known for its natural beauty, liberal politics, entrepreneurship, and diversity. The area ranks second in highest density of college graduates, after the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and performs above the state median household income in the 2010 census; it includes the five highest California counties by per capita income and two of the top 25 wealthiest counties in the United States. Based on a 2013 population report from the California Department of Finance, the Bay Area is the only region in California where the rate of people migrating in from other areas in the United States is greater than the rate of those leaving the region, led by Alameda and Contra Costa counties. (more...) Selected article![]() The Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary or United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island (often just referred to as Alcatraz) was a maximum high security Federal prison on Alcatraz Island, off the coast of San Francisco, California, USA, which operated from 1934 to 1963. The main prison building was built in 1910-12 during the time it was a United States Army military prison; Alcatraz was the site of a citadel from the 1860s. The United States Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz was acquired by the United States Department of Justice on October 12, 1933, and the island became a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison in August 1934, after the buildings were modernized to meet the requirements of a top-notch security prison. Given this high security and the location of Alcatraz in the cold waters and strong currents of San Francisco Bay, at least a mile off the coast, the prison operators believed Alcatraz to be inescapable and America's strongest prison. (more...) Selected biography![]() Bumgarner was born in Hickory, North Carolina, and attended South Caldwell High School in Hudson, where he helped his baseball team win the 2007 4A State Championship. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the first round (tenth overall) in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft out of high school. In his first year playing professionally, 2008, he won the South Atlantic League pitching triple crown. He made his major league debut in 2009 with the Giants. In 2010, he began the season in the minor leagues but was called up midway through the season and wound up becoming the youngest left-handed pitcher to throw eight scoreless innings in a World Series as the Giants won the 2010 World Series, their first since 1954. He got off to an 0–5 start in 2011 but managed to finish with a 13–13 record. In 2012, Bumgarner set a career high with 16 wins and won his second World Series. He had the best ERA of his career in 2013, at 2.77, and started on Opening Day for Giants in 2014. (more...) Selected city![]() Selected image
The Bay Area by year1900
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Selected historical image![]() SRI’s Bill English, engineer who built the first computer mouse prototype, prepares for the December 9, 1968 "mother of all demos" image credit: SRI International
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July 2015 Selected periodic event![]() The San Jose Flea Market, open on weekends, is the largest open-air market in the U.S. and has over four million visitors each year. In addition to merchandise vendors, it features a produce market, prepared foods, and two bandstands, one traditionally reserved for a mariachi band (pictured). Quote![]()
Selected multimedia fileBay Area regions, geographic features and protected areasRelated PortalsWikiProject
Things you can do![]() *Write an article on a Bay Area-related subject Selected panorama![]() California-Stanford football game, Berkeley, Nov. 22, 1930. The Stanford Cardinals shut out the California Golden Bears 41-0. image credit: Morton & Co.
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