San Francisco Bay in California has been served by ferries of all types for over 150 years. Although the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge led to the decline in the importance of most ferries, some are still in use today for both commuters and tourists. San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, and the Golden Gate San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The ferryboat Dongan Hills, filled with commuters, about to dock at a New York City pier, ca. ... The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. ... The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge ( ; known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a toll bridge which spans San Francisco Bay and links the California cities of Oakland and San Francisco in the United States, as part of Interstate 80. ...

The Creek Route ferries

One of the earliest ferry routes ran between San Francisco and Oakland on what was called the "creek route". The name derived from the Oakland landing site located on what is today called the Oakland Estuary, an inlet of San Francisco Bay. The estuary, which in the 1800s included what is today's Lake Merritt, was the "creek". Nickname: Location of the City and County of San Francisco, California Coordinates: , Country United States of America State California City-County San Francisco Government  - Mayor Gavin Newsom Area  - City  47 sq mi (122 km²)  - Land  46. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... External links Oakland Estuary Panorama ... Lake Merritt is a large tidal lagoon that lies just east of downtown Oakland, California. ...

Railroad ferries

The Southern Pacific Company's Bay City ferry plies the waters of San Francisco Bay in the late 19th century.

The first railroad ferries on San Francisco Bay were established by the Central Pacific Railroad and were an integral part of the Transcontinental Railroad. The earliest railroad ferries ran from Alameda when it was still a peninsula. Another ferry pier was established at Oakland Point, the Oakland Long Wharf. These railroad ferries mostly carried passengers, not trains, although there was some ferrying of freight cars to San Francisco. When the Central Pacific re-routed the Sacramento to Oakland segment of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1876, a ferry across the Carquinez Strait was established, and the world's largest ferryboat, the Solano was built (later joined by a sister ferry, the slightly larger Contra Costa), to serve the crossing. This railroad ferry actually carried whole trains. These ferries became part of the Southern Pacific Railroad when it assumed many of the facilities of its affiliate, the Central Pacific. Image File history File links CHS.J1211. ... Image File history File links CHS.J1211. ... The Gov. ... A transcontinental railroad is a railway that crosses a continent, typically from sea to sea. Terminals are at or connected to different oceans. ... Nickname: The Island City Location in the state of California and Alameda County County Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson (D) Area    - City 59. ... The Oakland Long Wharf was a massive railroad wharf and ferry pier (mole) in Oakland, California. ... Carquinez Strait The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. ... The Solano was a large railroad ferryboat which operated across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California. ... The Southern Pacific Railroad (AAR reporting marks SP) was an American railroad. ...

The Key System transit company established its own ferry service in 1903 between the Ferry Building in San Francisco and its own pier and wharf ("mole") on the Oakland shoreline, located just south of what is today the eastern approach to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. The Key System (or Key Route) was a company that provided mass transit in the cities of Oakland, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, San Leandro, Richmond, Albany and El Cerrito in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area from the 1900s until 1960 when the system was sold to a newly formed public... The Embarcaderos Ferry Building The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. ... A mole is a massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater, or junction between places separated by water. ... The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge ( ; known locally as the Bay Bridge) is a toll bridge which spans San Francisco Bay and links the California cities of Oakland and San Francisco in the United States, as part of Interstate 80. ...

Auto ferries

In the 1920s, the Southern Pacific Railroad established a subsidiary, the Golden Gate Ferries, to carry automobiles on three routes: the Golden Gate between the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito in Marin County; San Francisco Bay between the Hyde Street Pier and the Berkeley Pier; and San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and the Oakland Pier. These ferries ceased operation shortly after the Golden Gate and Bay Bridges were opened. The Golden Gate The Golden Gate, looking south towards San Francisco. ... The Hyde Street Pier is an historic ferry pier located on the northern waterfront of San Francisco, California, amidst the tourist zone of Fishermans Wharf. ... Sausalito is a city located in Marin County, California. ... Marin County is a county located in Californias San Francisco Bay Area, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. ... The Berkeley Pier is a pier in Berkeley, California. ...

Ferries Today

The largest ferry system on San Francisco Bay today is operated by Blue & Gold Fleet. Others include Red & White Fleet and Golden Gate Transit. Modern high speed ferryboats of this commuter system run between the Ferry Building in San Francisco and landings in Sausalito and Larkspur in Marin County. Blue & Gold Fleet is a privately owned public transportation system that uses ferries in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. ... Red & White Fleet is a privately owned public transportation system of ferries that does many cruises across the San Francisco Bay including going around landmarks and tourist attractions including under the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz Island, Treasure Island, Yerba Buena Island, past the AT&T Parkand under the... Golden Gate Transit is a public transportation system in the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. ... Sausalito is a city located in Marin County, California. ... Species Delphinium glaucum Delphinium consolida Delphinium bakeri Others Larkspur (Delphinium glaucum) is a tall (4 to 6 foot high), robust plant. ...

Other commuter ferries run from the city of Alameda, Jack London Square in Oakland and Vallejo to the Ferry Building in San Francisco. Nickname: The Island City Location in the state of California and Alameda County County Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson (D) Area    - City 59. ... Reconstruction of Jack Londons Alaskan Hut in Jack London Square Jack London Square is a popular tourist attraction on the waterfront of Oakland, California. ... Vallejo (pronounced IPA: in English; in the original Spanish) is a city in Solano County, California, United States. ...

Tourist ferries run from Fisherman's Wharf to Alcatraz Island, and from Sausalito to Angel Island. Fishermans Wharf sign Fishermans Wharf is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, U.S. Roughly speaking it encompasses the northern waterfront area of San Francisco from Ghirardelli Square or Van Ness Street east to Pier 35 or Kearney Street. ... Alcatraz Island (sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name, The Rock) is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. ... Aerial view of Angel Island. ...

List of Ferryboats on San Francisco Bay

Past

The Santa Fe's San Pablo ferry travels across San Francisco Bay in the early 20th century

Golden Gate Ferry Sonoma, approaching the Ferry Building in San Francisco

• Bay City (Southern Pacific)
• Berkeley (Southern Pacific)
• Contra Costa (Central Pacific/Southern Pacific)
• Eureka (Northwestern Pacific/Southern Pacific)
• Fresno (Southern Pacific)
• Hayward (Key System)
• Newark (Southern Pacific)
• Oakland (Southern Pacific)
• Ocean Wave (Santa Fe)
• Peralta (Key System)
• Sacramento (Southern Pacific)
• San Leandro (Key System/Southern Pacific)
• San Pablo (Santa Fe)
• San Pedro (Santa Fe)
• Santa Clara (Southern Pacific)
• Solano (Central Pacific/Southern Pacific)

Image File history File links CHS.1794. ... Image File history File links CHS.1794. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (3072 × 2304 pixel, file size: 1. ... The Embarcaderos Ferry Building The Ferry Building is a terminal for ferries that travel across the San Francisco Bay and a shopping center located on The Embarcadero in San Francisco, California. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... The Berkeley was a ferryboat that operated out of the San Francisco Bay for sixty years. ... The Solano was a large railroad ferryboat which operated across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California. ... The Eureka is now docked at the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco The Eureka is a side-wheel paddle steamboat, built in 1890, which is now preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California. ... The Solano was a large railroad ferryboat which operated across the Carquinez Strait between Benicia and Port Costa in California. ...

Present

• Del Norte (Golden Gate)
• Mare Island (Vallejo Baylink)
• Mendocino (Golden Gate)
• San Francisco (Golden Gate)
• Solano (Vallejo Baylink)
• Sonoma (Golden Gate)
• Vallejo (Vallejo Baylink)

References

• San Francisco Bay : A Pictorial Maritime History, by John Haskell Kemble, Bonanza Books (1957, 1978).

• San Francisco Bay Ferryboats, by George H. Harlan, Howell-North Books (1967).

External links

• Golden Gate Transit
• Alameda/Oakland/San Francisco Ferry official website
• Baylink (official Vallejo ferry website)
• San Francisco Bay Ferryboats