San Francisco Bay

San Francisco Bay is a large Pacific Ocean estuary in northern California, connected to the ocean through the Golden Gate and surrounded by the San Francisco Bay Area.

Estuary: A coastal water body where freshwater from rivers mixes with saltwater from the sea. The bay is an estuary whose salinity and circulation reflect both river flow and Pacific tides.
Tide: The periodic rise and fall of sea level caused mainly by the Moon’s and Sun’s gravity. Tidal exchange through the Golden Gate drives much of the bay’s circulation.
Port of Oakland: A major container port on San Francisco Bay in Oakland, California. Its deep-water terminals make the bay a gateway for Pacific trade.
San Francisco Bay Area: A densely populated region of northern California centered on San Francisco Bay. The estuary gives the surrounding region its geography and name.
Golden Gate: The narrow strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. This passage controls much of the bay’s exchange with the open ocean.
Tidal prism: The volume of water that enters or leaves a tidal basin during one tidal cycle. Its size helps explain currents through the Golden Gate and within the bay’s channels.
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge: A bridge system connecting San Francisco and Oakland across San Francisco Bay. It carries road and rail traffic across the bay’s central waters.
Bay fill: The placement of earth or other material in shallow water to create land. Fill eliminated extensive tidal wetlands and moved the shoreline inward.
Sacramento River: A major California river that flows south through the Central Valley into the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta. It supplies much of the freshwater entering the northern bay through the Delta.
Sediment transport: The movement of mineral particles by water, wind, ice, or gravity. River-borne sediment and tidal currents build and erode the bay’s shoals and mudflats.

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