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Coordinates: 37°35′00″N 122°24′04″W / 37.58333°N 122.40111°W / 37.58333; -122.40111
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{{short description|Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area}}
{{Refimprove|date=March 2009}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
[[File:Bay Area by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-11 (small version).jpg|alt=|thumb|316x316px|Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco peninsula protrudes northward. San Francisco is at its tip.]]
[[File:Bay Area by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-11 (small version).jpg|alt=|thumb|316x316px|Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco peninsula protrudes northward. San Francisco is at its tip.]]
[[File:San Francisco Peninsula by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-11.jpg|alt=|thumb|392x392px|Enlarged detail of the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula]]
[[File:San Francisco Peninsula by Sentinel-2, 2019-03-11.jpg|alt=|thumb|392x392px|Enlarged detail of the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula]]
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{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}


The '''San Francisco Peninsula''' is a [[peninsula]] in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] that separates [[San Francisco Bay]] from the [[Pacific Ocean]]. On its northern tip is the [[San Francisco|City and County of San Francisco]]. Its southern base is in northern [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]], including the cities of [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]], [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], and [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]]. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]], between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of [[Atherton, California|Atherton]], [[Belmont, California|Belmont]], [[Brisbane, California|Brisbane]], [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]], [[Colma, California|Colma]], [[Daly City, California|Daly City]], [[East Palo Alto, California|East Palo Alto]], [[El Granada, California|El Granada]], [[Foster City, California|Foster City]], [[Hillsborough, California|Hillsborough]], [[Half Moon Bay, California|Half Moon Bay]], [[La Honda, California|La Honda]], [[Loma Mar, California|Loma Mar]], [[Los Altos, California| Los Altos]], [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]], [[Millbrae, California|Millbrae]], [[ Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], [[Pacifica, California|Pacifica]], [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], [[Pescadero, California|Pescadero]], [[Portola Valley, California|Portola Valley]], [[Redwood City, California|Redwood City]], [[San Bruno, California|San Bruno]], [[San Carlos, California|San Carlos]], [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]], [[South San Francisco, California|South San Francisco]], [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]], and [[Woodside, California|Woodside]].
The '''San Francisco Peninsula''' is a [[peninsula]] in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] that separates [[San Francisco Bay]] from the [[Pacific Ocean]]. On its northern tip is the [[San Francisco|City and County of San Francisco]]. Its southern base is [[ Los Altos, California|Los Altos]], [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], in [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara County]], south of [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]] and north of [[Sunnyvale, California|Sunnyvale]] and [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]]. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo County]], between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of [[Atherton, California|Atherton]], [[Belmont, California|Belmont]], [[Brisbane, California|Brisbane]], [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]], [[Colma, California|Colma]], [[Daly City, California|Daly City]], [[East Palo Alto, California|East Palo Alto]], [[El Granada, California|El Granada]], [[Foster City, California|Foster City]], [[Hillsborough, California|Hillsborough]], [[Half Moon Bay, California|Half Moon Bay]], [[La Honda, California|La Honda]], [[Loma Mar, California|Loma Mar]], [[Los Altos, California|Los Altos]], [[Menlo Park, California|Menlo Park]], [[Millbrae, California|Millbrae]], [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], [[Pacifica, California|Pacifica]], [[Palo Alto, California|Palo Alto]], [[Pescadero, California|Pescadero]], [[Portola Valley, California|Portola Valley]], [[Redwood City, California|Redwood City]], [[San Bruno, California|San Bruno]], [[San Carlos, California|San Carlos]], [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]], [[South San Francisco, California|South San Francisco]], and [[Woodside, California|Woodside]].


Whereas the term ''peninsula'' in a geographical sense technically refers to the entire San Francisco Peninsula, in local jargon, "The Peninsula" does not include the city of San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abc7news.com/traffic/sf-lawmakers-discusses-closing-parts-of-the-great-highway/2072513/ |title=SF planning commission discusses closing parts of the Great Highway |access-date=2018-11-26 |year=2017 |publisher=ABC7News}}</ref>
Whereas the term ''peninsula'' in a geographical sense technically refers to the entire San Francisco Peninsula, in local jargon, "The Peninsula" does not include the city of San Francisco.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abc7news.com/traffic/sf-lawmakers-discusses-closing-parts-of-the-great-highway/2072513/ |title=SF planning commission discusses closing parts of the Great Highway |access-date=2018-11-26 |year=2017 |publisher=ABC7News}}</ref>
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In 1795, Governor [[Diego de Borica]] gave [[José Darío Argüello]] a [[Ranchos of California|Spanish land grant]] known as [[Rancho de las Pulgas]].<ref name=ranchoPulgas>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.menlo-park.ca.us/homepage/history.html |title=Early days in Menlo Park |access-date=2010-05-04 |year=2002 |publisher=[[Menlo Park, California|ci.menlo-park.ca.us]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504173325/http://www.ci.menlo-park.ca.us/homepage/history.html |archive-date=2011-05-04 }}</ref> This rancho was the largest grant on the peninsula consisting of {{convert|35260|acre|km2}}.<ref name=ranchoPulgas/>
In 1795, Governor [[Diego de Borica]] gave [[José Darío Argüello]] a [[Ranchos of California|Spanish land grant]] known as [[Rancho de las Pulgas]].<ref name=ranchoPulgas>{{cite web |url=http://www.ci.menlo-park.ca.us/homepage/history.html |title=Early days in Menlo Park |access-date=2010-05-04 |year=2002 |publisher=[[Menlo Park, California|ci.menlo-park.ca.us]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504173325/http://www.ci.menlo-park.ca.us/homepage/history.html |archive-date=2011-05-04 }}</ref> This rancho was the largest grant on the peninsula consisting of {{convert|35260|acre|km2}}.<ref name=ranchoPulgas/>


As a local [[geographic]] term, the area referred to as "The Peninsula" is distinct from that denoted by "The City", and refers to the portion south of San Francisco. The appellation may date to the period, prior to 1856, when the City of San Francisco and the County of San Francisco were separate entities, the latter then coextensive with contemporary San Mateo County and San Francisco City-County. The City-County owns several disjunct properties along the whole of the Peninsula (mostly water pumping stations connected to the [[Hetch Hetchy Valley]] on which San Francisco has a permanent leasehold); thus, most of the larger communities in San Mateo County are ''de facto'' suburbs of San Francisco, with the neighboring communities of Pacifica, Daly City, Broadmoor, Colma, South San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, San Bruno, and Brisbane being immediate suburbs. The remaining suburban area of the Peninsula is on the east side of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], along [[San Francisco Bay]]; the west and south-central portions of the Peninsula are mostly rural, unincorporated and unorganised areas.
As a local geographic term, the area referred to as "the Peninsula" is distinct from that denoted by "the City", and refers to the portion south of San Francisco. The appellation may date to the period prior to 1856, when the City of San Francisco and the County of San Francisco were separate entities, the latter then coextensive with contemporary San Mateo County and San Francisco City-County. The City-County owns several disjunct properties along the whole of the Peninsula (mostly water pumping stations connected to the [[Hetch Hetchy Valley]] on which San Francisco has a permanent leasehold) &ndash; thus, most of the larger communities in San Mateo County are ''de facto'' suburbs of San Francisco, with the neighboring communities of Pacifica, Daly City, Broadmoor, Colma, South San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, San Bruno, and Brisbane being immediate suburbs. The remaining suburban area of the Peninsula is on the east side of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], along [[San Francisco Bay]]; the west and south-central portions of the Peninsula are mostly rural, unincorporated, and unorganized areas.


A substantial portion of [[Silicon Valley]] is located on the peninsula. In Silicon Valley are the headquarters of some of the largest tech companies in the world, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Apple. Over the last decade or so there has been an influx of immigration into the Bay Area from places like India and China to work in the technology industry. There are well over 6,600 tech startups in the Valley and new ones are created every day.<ref>Price, Robert. "History." Roadmap To Silicon Valley. Roadmaptosiliconvalley.org. Web. 21 May 2014.</ref>
A substantial portion of [[Silicon Valley]] is located on the peninsula. In Silicon Valley are the headquarters of some of the largest tech companies in the world, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Apple. Since 2010, [[Droughts in California|droughts]] and [[List of California wildfires|wildfires]] have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's [[water security]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Drought.gov |url=https://www.drought.gov/ |website=[[National Integrated Drought Information System]] |access-date=10 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608191948/https://www.drought.gov/ |archive-date=2023-06-08 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Boxall |first1=Bettina |last2=St. John |first2=Paige |date=November 10, 2018 |title=California's most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-camp-fire-science-20181110-story.html |access-date=May 8, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation |url=https://www.drought.gov/drought/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181111042024/https://www.drought.gov/drought/ |archive-date=November 11, 2018 |access-date=May 8, 2022|publisher=National Integrated Drought Information System}}</ref>


==Geography and Transportation==
==Geography and transportation==
{{Further|Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area}}
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The east side of the peninsula is a densely populated and largely urban and suburban area that includes portions of Silicon Valley. It forms a commuter area between San Francisco to the north and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] to the south. A number of major thoroughfares run north-south: [[El Camino Real (California)|El Camino Real]] ([[California State Route 82|SR 82]]) and [[U.S. Route 101 in California|US 101]] on the east side along the bay, [[Interstate 280 (California)|Interstate 280]] down the center, [[Skyline Boulevard]] ([[California State Route 35|SR 35]]) along the crest of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], and [[California State Route 1|SR 1]] on the west along the Pacific, and [[California State Route 85|SR 85]] which forms the southern end of the Peninsula. The [[Caltrain]] commuter rail line runs roughly parallel to the El Camino Real (State Route 82) and Highway 101 corridors.
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Along the center line of the Peninsula is the northern half of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], formed by the action of [[plate tectonics]] along the [[San Andreas Fault]]. In the middle of the Peninsula along the fault is the [[Crystal Springs Reservoir]]. Just north of the Crystal Springs reservoir is [[San Andreas Lake]], after which the [[Fault (geology)|geologic fault]] was originally named.<ref>Carol S. Prentice, "Andrew Cowper Lawson", in ''Classic Cordilleran Concepts: A View from California'', Special paper 338, Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America, 1999, {{ISBN|9780813723389}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3RlHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 p.&nbsp;70].</ref>


The east side of the peninsula is a densely populated and largely urban and suburban area that includes portions of Silicon Valley. It forms a commuter area between San Francisco to the north and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] to the south.
===Major highways===

===Roads===
{{Main|State highways in California}}
{{Main|State highways in California}}
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
Line 35: Line 38:
* [[File:California 114.svg|25px]] [[California State Route 114|State Route 114]]
* [[File:California 114.svg|25px]] [[California State Route 114|State Route 114]]
* [[File:California 237.svg|25px]] [[California State Route 237|State Route 237]]
* [[File:California 237.svg|25px]] [[California State Route 237|State Route 237]]
{{div col end}}
{{Div col end}}


The bridges in the Peninsula include the [[Dumbarton Bridge (California)|Dumbarton Bridge]], the [[San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge]], the [[San Mateo-Hayward Bridge]] and the [[Golden Gate Bridge]].
The bridges in the Peninsula include the [[Dumbarton Bridge (California)|Dumbarton Bridge]], the [[Golden Gate Bridge]], the [[San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge]], and the [[San Mateo–Hayward Bridge]].


⚫
A number of major thoroughfares run north-south: [[El Camino Real (California)|El Camino Real]] ([[California State Route 82|SR 82]]) and [[U.S. Route 101 in California|US 101]] on the east side along the bay, [[Interstate 280 (California)|Interstate 280]] down the center, [[Skyline Boulevard]] ([[California State Route 35|SR 35]]) along the crest of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], and [[California State Route 1|SR 1]] on the west along the Pacific, and [[California State Route 85|SR 85]] which forms the southern end of the Peninsula.
⚫
Along the center line of the Peninsula is the northern half of the [[Santa Cruz Mountains]], formed by the action of [[plate tectonics]] along the [[San Andreas Fault]]. In the middle of the Peninsula along the fault is the [[Crystal Springs Reservoir]]. Just north of the Crystal Springs reservoir is [[San Andreas Lake]], after which the [[Fault (geology)|geologic fault]] was originally named.<ref>Carol S. Prentice, "Andrew Cowper Lawson", in ''Classic Cordilleran Concepts: A View from California'', Special paper 338, Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America, 1999, {{ISBN|9780813723389}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=3RlHAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA70#v=onepage&q&f=false p.&nbsp;70].</ref>

=== Transit ===
[[Caltrain]] is the primary passenger rail transit in the peninsula, serving much of the eastern urbanized areas of the peninsula between Mountain View (which also connects to [[VTA light rail]]) and San Francisco's [[San Francisco 4th and King Street station|4th and King Street]] station. In addition, the peninsula has access to [[Bay Area Rapid Transit]] (BART) northward of [[Millbrae, California|Millbrae]], connecting San Mateo County and San Francisco to the [[East Bay]] through a route over and under [[Daly City, California|Daly City]], [[Glen Park, San Francisco|Glen Park]], [[Mission District, San Francisco|San Francisco's Mission district]], and through part of [[Market Street subway]].

Bus service is predominantly served by [[SamTrans]] and the [[San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency|SFMTA]]'s Muni buses, which primarily run in San Mateo and San Francisco counties respectively. In addition, southward of Palo Alto, the [[Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority]] operates buses to other parts of Santa Clara County. Most of the peninsula's bus transit to the [[East Bay]] and [[North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)|North Bay]] flowing through San Francisco, as neither [[AC Transit]] nor [[Golden Gate Transit]], the primary transit operators for the East and North Bay respectively, serve the peninsula south of San Francisco.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Find Your Route & Stop - Riding the Bus {{!}} Golden Gate |url=https://www.goldengate.org/bus/riding-the-bus/find-your-route-stop/ |access-date=2022-12-08 |website=www.goldengate.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=AC Transit |title=Schedule and Fares for Daly City |url=https://www.actransit.org/website/uploads/HSP_DALY-sched.pdf |access-date=December 8, 2022}}</ref>

=== Airports ===
The peninsula's largest commercial airport is [[San Francisco International Airport]], itself connected to US 101 and BART and accessible to Caltrain (via a BART connection at Milbrae station).

[[San Jose International Airport]], is the next largest airport in the region serving and might be a more viable option for the southern peninsula. The airport is connected to US 101 and there is a single connector bus, [[Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority| VTA]] Line 60, that links to Caltrain (at Santa Clara Transit Center) and to eastern lines of BART (Milpitas).<ref name="vta">{{cite web|url=https://www.vta.org/go/routes/60|title=Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority:Milpitas BART - Winchester Stn via SJC Airport|access-date=March 17, 2024}}</ref>

[[Oakland International Airport]], located in the [[East Bay]], is the smallest of the three and is also accessible directly via BART.


==Environmental features==
==Environmental features==
The San Francisco Peninsula contains a variety of habitats including [[estuary|estuarine]], marine, [[oak woodland]], redwood forest, coastal scrub and oak [[savanna]]. There are numerous species of wildlife present, especially along the [[San Francisco Bay]] [[estuary|estuarine]] [[shoreline]], [[San Bruno Mountain]], [[Fitzgerald Marine Reserve]] and the [[forest]]s on the [[Montara Mountain]] block.
The San Francisco Peninsula contains a variety of habitats including [[estuary|estuarine]], marine, [[oak woodland]], redwood forest, coastal scrub and oak [[savanna]]. There are numerous species of wildlife present, especially along the [[San Francisco Bay]] [[estuary|estuarine]] [[shoreline]], [[San Bruno Mountain]], [[Fitzgerald Marine Reserve]] and the [[forest]]s on the [[Montara Mountain]] block.


The county is home to several endangered species including the [[San Francisco garter snake]], the [[Mission blue butterfly]] and the [[San Bruno elfin butterfly]], all of which are endemic to [[San Mateo County]]. The [[endangered species|endangered]] [[California clapper rail]] is also found on the shores of [[San Francisco Bay]], in the cities of [[Belmont, California|Belmont]] and [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]].
The area is home to several endangered species including the [[San Francisco garter snake]], the [[Mission blue butterfly]] and the [[San Bruno elfin butterfly]], all of which are endemic to [[San Mateo County]]. The [[endangered species|endangered]] [[California clapper rail]] is also found on the shores of [[San Francisco Bay]], in the cities of [[Belmont, California|Belmont]] and [[San Mateo, California|San Mateo]].

Although [[tule elk]], an elk subspecies found only in California, were historically native to the San Francisco Peninsula, they were hunted to extinction by 1850.<ref>{{cite journal |title=A review of considerations for restoration of tule elk to the San Francisco Peninsula and northern Monterey Bay counties of California |author=Richard B. Lanman, William C. Leikam, Monica V. Arellano, Alan Leventhal, Valentin Lopez, Ryan A. Phillips, Julie A. Phillips, Kristin Denryter |journal=California Fish and Wildlife Journal |year=2022 |volume=108 |issue=3 |pages=62–93 |doi=10.51492/cfwj.108.14 |url=https://www.doi.org/10.51492/cfwj.108.14 |accessdate=February 16, 2024|doi-access=free }}</ref> Expansion of Diablo Range elk to western [[Santa Clara County (California)|Santa Clara County]], and [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]] and [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz Counties]] has been blocked by [[U.S. Route 101 in California|U.S. Highway 101]] in [[Coyote Valley, California|Coyote Valley]] south of [[San Jose, California]].<ref name=Connor>{{cite journal |title=Habitat suitability assessment for tule elk in the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas |author=Thomas Connor, Thomas J. Batter, Cristen O. Langer, Jeff Cann, Cynthia McColl, Richard B. Lanman |journal=California Fish and Wildlife Journal |year=2023 |volume=109 |page=e19 |url=https://journal.wildlife.ca.gov/2023/12/29/habitat-suitability-assessment-for-tule-elk-in-the-san-francisco-bay-and-monterey-bay-areas/ |accessdate=February 16, 2024}}</ref>


A number of noteworthy parks and nature preserves are found on the San Francisco Peninsula, including:
A number of noteworthy parks and nature preserves are found on the San Francisco Peninsula, including:


* [[Edgewood County Park|Edgewood Park]], San Mateo County
* [[Edgewood County Park|Edgewood Park]], San Mateo County
* [[Golden Gate National Recreation Area]] - several units are located on the Peninsula
* [[Golden Gate National Recreation Area]]—several units are located on the Peninsula
* [[Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District]] - several preserves
* [[Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District]]—several preserves
* [[Shoreline Park, Mountain View|Shoreline Park]], Mountain View, Santa Clara County
* [[Shoreline Park, Mountain View|Shoreline Park]], Mountain View, Santa Clara County
* [[Rancho San Antonio Country Park]], Los Altos, Cupertino, Ca Santa Clara County


==Notable structures==
==Notable structures==
Line 64: Line 80:
* [[CuriOdyssey]] museum, San Mateo
* [[CuriOdyssey]] museum, San Mateo
* [[Dakin Building]], Brisbane
* [[Dakin Building]], Brisbane
* [[Facebook Inc.]], world headquarters, Menlo Park
* [[Meta Platforms]], world headquarters, Menlo Park
* [[Filoli]] mansion and gardens, Woodside
* [[Filoli]] mansion and gardens, Woodside
* [[Frenchman's Tower]], Palo Alto
* [[Frenchman's Tower]], Palo Alto
Line 75: Line 91:
* [[Sanchez Adobe Park]], Pacifica
* [[Sanchez Adobe Park]], Pacifica
* [[Stanford University]] campus, Palo Alto
* [[Stanford University]] campus, Palo Alto
{{colend|colwidth=26em}}
{{Div col end|colwidth=26em}}


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area}}
* {{C|Landforms of the San Francisco Bay Area}}
* {{C|Landforms of the San Francisco Bay Area}}
* [[List of peninsulas]]
* [[List of peninsulas]]
Line 84: Line 101:
==References==
==References==
{{Wikivoyage|Peninsula (Bay Area)}}
{{Wikivoyage|Peninsula (Bay Area)}}
{{reflist|30em}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


==External links==
* {{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dU4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA85 |title=The Peninsula: It is the playground of San Francisco society |author1=Stackpole, Peter |author-link1=Peter Stackpole |date=August 18, 1947 |magazine=LIFE |pages=85–93 |volume=23 |issue=7}}
{{SF Bay Area}}
{{SF Bay Area}}
{{San Francisco Bay watershed}}
{{San Francisco Bay watershed}}
{{California}}
{{California}}
{{Authority control}}
{{coord|37|35|00|N|122|24|04|W|source:GNIS_scale:500000|display=title}}
{{Coord|37|35|00|N|122|24|04|W|source:GNIS_scale:500000|display=title}}



[[Category:Peninsulas of California]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of California]]

Revision as of 04:28, 13 May 2024

Satellite photo of the San Francisco Bay Area. The San Francisco peninsula protrudes northward. San Francisco is at its tip.
Enlarged detail of the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula

The San Francisco Peninsula is a peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area that separates San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the City and County of San Francisco. Its southern base is Los Altos, Mountain View, in Santa Clara County, south of Palo Alto and north of Sunnyvale and Los Altos. Most of the Peninsula is occupied by San Mateo County, between San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, and including the cities and towns of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, El Granada, Foster City, Hillsborough, Half Moon Bay, La Honda, Loma Mar, Los Altos, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Pescadero, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.

Whereas the term peninsula in a geographical sense technically refers to the entire San Francisco Peninsula, in local jargon, "The Peninsula" does not include the city of San Francisco.[1]

History

In 1795, Governor Diego de Borica gave José Darío Argüello a Spanish land grant known as Rancho de las Pulgas.[2] This rancho was the largest grant on the peninsula consisting of 35,260 acres (142.7 km2).[2]

As a local geographic term, the area referred to as "the Peninsula" is distinct from that denoted by "the City", and refers to the portion south of San Francisco. The appellation may date to the period prior to 1856, when the City of San Francisco and the County of San Francisco were separate entities, the latter then coextensive with contemporary San Mateo County and San Francisco City-County. The City-County owns several disjunct properties along the whole of the Peninsula (mostly water pumping stations connected to the Hetch Hetchy Valley on which San Francisco has a permanent leasehold) – thus, most of the larger communities in San Mateo County are de facto suburbs of San Francisco, with the neighboring communities of Pacifica, Daly City, Broadmoor, Colma, South San Francisco, Half Moon Bay, San Bruno, and Brisbane being immediate suburbs. The remaining suburban area of the Peninsula is on the east side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, along San Francisco Bay; the west and south-central portions of the Peninsula are mostly rural, unincorporated, and unorganized areas.

A substantial portion of Silicon Valley is located on the peninsula. In Silicon Valley are the headquarters of some of the largest tech companies in the world, such as Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and Apple. Since 2010, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency and become less seasonal and more year-round, further straining the region's water security.[3][4][5]

Geography and transportation

Further information: Transportation in the San Francisco Bay Area

Along the center line of the Peninsula is the northern half of the Santa Cruz Mountains, formed by the action of plate tectonics along the San Andreas Fault. In the middle of the Peninsula along the fault is the Crystal Springs Reservoir. Just north of the Crystal Springs reservoir is San Andreas Lake, after which the geologic fault was originally named.[6]

The east side of the peninsula is a densely populated and largely urban and suburban area that includes portions of Silicon Valley. It forms a commuter area between San Francisco to the north and San Jose to the south.

Roads

Main article: State highways in California

The bridges in the Peninsula include the Dumbarton Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge, the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge, and the San Mateo–Hayward Bridge.

A number of major thoroughfares run north-south: El Camino Real (SR 82) and US 101 on the east side along the bay, Interstate 280 down the center, Skyline Boulevard (SR 35) along the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and SR 1 on the west along the Pacific, and SR 85 which forms the southern end of the Peninsula.

Transit

Caltrain is the primary passenger rail transit in the peninsula, serving much of the eastern urbanized areas of the peninsula between Mountain View (which also connects to VTA light rail) and San Francisco's 4th and King Street station. In addition, the peninsula has access to Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) northward of Millbrae, connecting San Mateo County and San Francisco to the East Bay through a route over and under Daly City, Glen Park, San Francisco's Mission district, and through part of Market Street subway.

Bus service is predominantly served by SamTrans and the SFMTA's Muni buses, which primarily run in San Mateo and San Francisco counties respectively. In addition, southward of Palo Alto, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority operates buses to other parts of Santa Clara County. Most of the peninsula's bus transit to the East Bay and North Bay flowing through San Francisco, as neither AC Transit nor Golden Gate Transit, the primary transit operators for the East and North Bay respectively, serve the peninsula south of San Francisco.[7][8]

Airports

The peninsula's largest commercial airport is San Francisco International Airport, itself connected to US 101 and BART and accessible to Caltrain (via a BART connection at Milbrae station).

San Jose International Airport, is the next largest airport in the region serving and might be a more viable option for the southern peninsula. The airport is connected to US 101 and there is a single connector bus, VTA Line 60, that links to Caltrain (at Santa Clara Transit Center) and to eastern lines of BART (Milpitas).[9]

Oakland International Airport, located in the East Bay, is the smallest of the three and is also accessible directly via BART.

Environmental features

The San Francisco Peninsula contains a variety of habitats including estuarine, marine, oak woodland, redwood forest, coastal scrub and oak savanna. There are numerous species of wildlife present, especially along the San Francisco Bay estuarine shoreline, San Bruno Mountain, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve and the forests on the Montara Mountain block.

The area is home to several endangered species including the San Francisco garter snake, the Mission blue butterfly and the San Bruno elfin butterfly, all of which are endemic to San Mateo County. The endangered California clapper rail is also found on the shores of San Francisco Bay, in the cities of Belmont and San Mateo.

Although tule elk, an elk subspecies found only in California, were historically native to the San Francisco Peninsula, they were hunted to extinction by 1850.[10] Expansion of Diablo Range elk to western Santa Clara County, and San Mateo and Santa Cruz Counties has been blocked by U.S. Highway 101 in Coyote Valley south of San Jose, California.[11]

A number of noteworthy parks and nature preserves are found on the San Francisco Peninsula, including:

Notable structures

There are a number of well-known structures and complexes on the San Francisco Peninsula:

See also

References

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Peninsula (Bay Area).
  1. ^ "SF planning commission discusses closing parts of the Great Highway". ABC7News. 2017. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Early days in Menlo Park". ci.menlo-park.ca.us. 2002. Archived from the original on May 4, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
  3. ^ "Drought.gov". National Integrated Drought Information System. Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Boxall, Bettina; St. John, Paige (November 10, 2018). "California's most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  5. ^ "Advancing Drought Science and Preparedness across the Nation". National Integrated Drought Information System. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved May 8, 2022.
  6. ^ Carol S. Prentice, "Andrew Cowper Lawson", in Classic Cordilleran Concepts: A View from California, Special paper 338, Boulder, Colorado: Geological Society of America, 1999, ISBN 9780813723389, p. 70.
  7. ^ "Find Your Route & Stop - Riding the Bus | Golden Gate". www.goldengate.org. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  8. ^ AC Transit. "Schedule and Fares for Daly City" (PDF). Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  9. ^ "Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority:Milpitas BART - Winchester Stn via SJC Airport". Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  10. ^ Richard B. Lanman, William C. Leikam, Monica V. Arellano, Alan Leventhal, Valentin Lopez, Ryan A. Phillips, Julie A. Phillips, Kristin Denryter (2022). "A review of considerations for restoration of tule elk to the San Francisco Peninsula and northern Monterey Bay counties of California". California Fish and Wildlife Journal. 108 (3): 62–93. doi:10.51492/cfwj.108.14. Retrieved February 16, 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Thomas Connor, Thomas J. Batter, Cristen O. Langer, Jeff Cann, Cynthia McColl, Richard B. Lanman (2023). "Habitat suitability assessment for tule elk in the San Francisco Bay and Monterey Bay areas". California Fish and Wildlife Journal. 109: e19. Retrieved February 16, 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ [1] Archived November 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine

37°35′00″N 122°24′04″W / 37.58333°N 122.40111°W / 37.58333; -122.40111

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