1.
Fire control tower
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The U. S. Coast Artillery fire control system included many fire control towers, which were used between about 1900 and the end of WW2. For example, the control tower at Site 131-1A contained one OP. A shorthand notation was used to identify the stations, for instance, the top story of Site 131-1A was planned to contain base end station #3 and spotting station #3 for Battery #15. The overall plan document for the harbor defenses contained a list that linked the tactical numbers of all batteries to their names and that document also contained an organization chart that identified all the Command and Group codes, like G3. These towers were arrayed in networks along the coast on either side of the batteries they supported. The number and height of the towers was determined by the range of the guns involved, many fire control towers were also part of a harbors antiaircraft warning system. Spotters occupied cramped crows nests on the top floors of the towers that enabled them to lift a trapdoor in the towers roof and scan the sky for approaching aircraft. When an enemy craft was detected, bearings to it were measured from a pair of towers. A fire control tower was five to ten stories tall, depending on the height of the site at which it was built. Often made of poured concrete, its floors were usually unoccupied and were capped by occupied observation levels. Staircases ran up to the lowest observation level, and wooden ladders were used to climb to higher levels. But some fire control structures built atop hills or bluffs only needed to be one- or two-story buildings. Sometimes these buildings were camouflaged as private homes, and were referred to as fire control cottages, the center of octagonal concrete mounting pad on the eight floor of 131-1A was usually the surveyed point at the end of the baseline. A survey marker embedded in the roof directly above this pad defined this point. Other observing instruments on lower floors of the tower were usually lined up directly beneath the eighth floor mounting pad, Site 131-1A had electric lights, phones, and radio communications, and a time interval bell that was used for coordinating fire control information. Some fire control towers were also the points for coast surveillance or fire control radar antennas. Although our sample tower has a simple, square appearance, some versions of these towers in New England had round or partly octagonal plans, each major battery of Coast Artillery guns was supported by a network of fire control structures which were spread out along the nearby coast. Guns of longer range had larger numbers of fire stations in their networks
2.
San Francisco
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San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the cultural, commercial, and financial center of Northern California. It is the birthplace of the United Nations, the California Gold Rush of 1849 brought rapid growth, making it the largest city on the West Coast at the time. San Francisco became a consolidated city-county in 1856, after three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. In World War II, San Francisco was a port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. Politically, the city votes strongly along liberal Democratic Party lines, San Francisco is also the headquarters of five major banking institutions and various other companies such as Levi Strauss & Co. Dolby, Airbnb, Weebly, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Yelp, Pinterest, Twitter, Uber, Lyft, Mozilla, Wikimedia Foundation, as of 2016, San Francisco is ranked high on world liveability rankings. The earliest archaeological evidence of habitation of the territory of the city of San Francisco dates to 3000 BC. Upon independence from Spain in 1821, the became part of Mexico. Under Mexican rule, the system gradually ended, and its lands became privatized. In 1835, Englishman William Richardson erected the first independent homestead, together with Alcalde Francisco de Haro, he laid out a street plan for the expanded settlement, and the town, named Yerba Buena, began to attract American settlers. Commodore John D. Sloat claimed California for the United States on July 7,1846, during the Mexican–American War, montgomery arrived to claim Yerba Buena two days later. Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30 of the next year, despite its attractive location as a port and naval base, San Francisco was still a small settlement with inhospitable geography. The California Gold Rush brought a flood of treasure seekers, with their sourdough bread in tow, prospectors accumulated in San Francisco over rival Benicia, raising the population from 1,000 in 1848 to 25,000 by December 1849. The promise of fabulous riches was so strong that crews on arriving vessels deserted and rushed off to the gold fields, leaving behind a forest of masts in San Francisco harbor. Some of these approximately 500 abandoned ships were used at times as storeships, saloons and hotels, many were left to rot, by 1851 the harbor was extended out into the bay by wharves while buildings were erected on piles among the ships. By 1870 Yerba Buena Cove had been filled to create new land, buried ships are occasionally exposed when foundations are dug for new buildings. California was quickly granted statehood in 1850 and the U. S. military built Fort Point at the Golden Gate, silver discoveries, including the Comstock Lode in Nevada in 1859, further drove rapid population growth. With hordes of fortune seekers streaming through the city, lawlessness was common, and the Barbary Coast section of town gained notoriety as a haven for criminals, prostitution, entrepreneurs sought to capitalize on the wealth generated by the Gold Rush
3.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
4.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
5.
Seacoast defense in the United States
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Seacoast defense was a major concern for the United States from its independence until World War II. Before airplanes, Americas enemies could only reach her from the sea, after the 1940s, it was recognized that fixed fortifications were obsolete and ineffective against aircraft and missiles. However, in prior eras foreign fleets were a realistic threat, the defenses heavily depended on fortifications but also included submarine minefields, nets and booms, ships, and airplanes. Therefore, all of the armed forces participated in seacoast defense, designs evolved and became obsolete with changes in the technology available to both the attacking forces and the defenders. At the beginning of the American Revolution, many coastal fortifications already protected the Atlantic coast, prior to independence from Britain, local communities or colonies bore the cost and responsibility for their own protection. Urgency would wax and wane based on the climate in Europe. Most defenses were artillery protected by earthworks, as protection from pirate raids, though seldom used, the forts were a deterrent. Additional forts, called Patriot batteries, were built during the Revolution, when the United States gained independence in 1783, the seacoast defense fortifications were in poor condition. Twenty significant forts at thirteen harbors were approved for construction, mostly with traditional low walled structures with low sloped earthworks protecting wood or brick walls. The conventional wisdom was that soft earth would cushion the effect of fire against the walls. The angled walls also reduced the chance for more destructive straight-on hits from cannonballs, most First System forts were relatively small, and with some exceptions mounted only one tier of cannon, on the roof of the fort. Additional water batteries outside the fort provided more firepower, lacking trained engineers to supervise the work, Secretary of War Henry Knox placed a number of European engineers under contract. Although some fine forts were constructed, for the most part enthusiasm and funding waned, most of the partially finished earthworks and wooden structures deteriorated before they were needed to defend against the British in 1812. In 1802, Congress separated the artillerists and engineers into separate corps and directed the Corps of Engineers to create a military academy at West Point, one of the driving forces for establishing the new academy was the need to divorce the United States from its reliance on foreign engineers. In 1807-1808, new concerns over a war with Great Britain, prompted President Thomas Jefferson to renew fortification programs. One common weakness among the typical low-walled open bastion or star forts was exposure to fire, especially to new devices designed to explode in mid air. Gun emplacements which were at an angle to the sea were vulnerable to a solid shot running parallel to the taking out a row of guns. In the late 1770s, a French engineer, the Marquis de Montalembert and his design protected a forts gunners by placing most of them in covered casemate walls with openings for the guns
6.
United States Army
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The United States Armed Forces are the federal armed forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, from the time of its inception, the military played a decisive role in the history of the United States. A sense of unity and identity was forged as a result of victory in the First Barbary War. Even so, the Founders were suspicious of a permanent military force and it played an important role in the American Civil War, where leading generals on both sides were picked from members of the United States military. Not until the outbreak of World War II did a standing army become officially established. The National Security Act of 1947, adopted following World War II and during the Cold Wars onset, the U. S. military is one of the largest militaries in terms of number of personnel. It draws its personnel from a pool of paid volunteers. As of 2016, the United States spends about $580.3 billion annually to fund its military forces, put together, the United States constitutes roughly 40 percent of the worlds military expenditures. For the period 2010–14, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that the United States was the worlds largest exporter of major arms, the United States was also the worlds eighth largest importer of major weapons for the same period. The history of the U. S. military dates to 1775 and these forces demobilized in 1784 after the Treaty of Paris ended the War for Independence. All three services trace their origins to the founding of the Continental Army, the Continental Navy, the United States President is the U. S. militarys commander-in-chief. Rising tensions at various times with Britain and France and the ensuing Quasi-War and War of 1812 quickened the development of the U. S. Navy, the reserve branches formed a military strategic reserve during the Cold War, to be called into service in case of war. Time magazines Mark Thompson has suggested that with the War on Terror, Command over the armed forces is established in the United States Constitution. The sole power of command is vested in the President by Article II as Commander-in-Chief, the Constitution also allows for the creation of executive Departments headed principal officers whose opinion the President can require. This allowance in the Constitution formed the basis for creation of the Department of Defense in 1947 by the National Security Act, the Defense Department is headed by the Secretary of Defense, who is a civilian and member of the Cabinet. The Defense Secretary is second in the chain of command, just below the President. Together, the President and the Secretary of Defense comprise the National Command Authority, to coordinate military strategy with political affairs, the President has a National Security Council headed by the National Security Advisor. The collective body has only power to the President
7.
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps
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The U. S. Army Coast Artillery Corps was a corps level organization responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery during World War I, as early as 1882 the need for heavy fixed artillery for seacoast defense was noted in Chester A. In 1885 the Endicott Board was convened under the subsequent Grover Cleveland administration and this board recommended a large-scale program of harbor defenses at 29 ports, including guns, mortars, and mine fields. Most of their recommendations were implemented and new defenses were constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers 1895-1905, as the defenses were constructed, each harbor or rivers installations were controlled by Artillery Districts, renamed Coast Defense Commands in 1913 and Harbor Defense Commands in 1925. An extensive fire control system was developed and provided for the forts of each Coast Artillery District, Army leaders realized that heavy fixed artillery required different training programs and tactics than mobile field artillery. Prior to 1901 each of the seven artillery regiments contained both heavy and light artillery batteries, in February 1901 the Artillery Corps was divided into two types, field artillery and coast artillery. The previous seven artillery regiments were dissolved, and 30 numbered companies of artillery and 126 numbered companies of coast artillery were authorized. 82 existing heavy artillery batteries were designated as coast artillery companies, the company-based organization was for flexibility, as each harbor defense command was differently equipped and a task-based organization was needed. The Coast Artillery would alternate between small unit and regimental organization several times over its history, the head of the Artillery Corps became the Chief of Artillery in the rank of brigadier general with jurisdiction over both types of artillery. The Coast Artillery became responsible for the installation and operation of the mine fields that were planted to be under observation, fired electrically. The mine component was considered to be among the armament of coastal defense works. In 1905, after the experiences of the Spanish–American War, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a new board on fortifications and they updated some standards and reviewed the progress of the Endicott boards program. Most of the changes recommended by this board were technical, such as adding more searchlights, electrification, the board also recommended fortifications in territories acquired from Spain, Cuba and the Philippines, as well as Hawaii and a few other sites. Defenses in Panama were authorized by the Spooner Act of 1902, due to rapid development of the dreadnought battleship type, a new 14-inch gun was introduced in a few locations, primarily Los Angeles, the Philippines, and Panama. The Taft program fortifications differed slightly in construction and had fewer numbers of guns at a given location than those of the Endicott program. By the beginning of World War I, the United States had a defense system that was equal to any other nation. The rapidity of technological advances and changing techniques increasingly separated coastal defenses from field artillery, officers were rarely qualified to command both, requiring specialization. National Guard coast artillery units were formed by the states to attempt to bring the CAC up to strength in wartime
8.
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
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The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is a U. S. National Recreation Area protecting 80,002 acres of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land used by the United States Army. GGNRA is managed by the National Park Service and is one of the most visited units of the National Park system in the United States, with more than 15 million visitors a year. It is also one of the largest urban parks in the world, the park is not one continuous locale, but rather a collection of areas that stretch from southern San Mateo County to northern Marin County, and includes several areas of San Francisco. The park is as diverse as it is expansive, it contains famous tourist attractions such as Muir Woods National Monument, Alcatraz, the park was created thanks to the cooperative legislative efforts of cosponsors Congressman William S. Mailliard and Congressman Phillip Burton. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed into law An Act to Establish the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, the bill allocated $120 million for land acquisition and development. The National Park Service first purchased Alcatraz and Fort Mason from the U. S. Army, the Nature Conservancy then transferred the land to the GGNRA. These properties formed the basis for the park. Throughout the next 30 years, the National Park service acquired land and historic sites from the U. S. Army, private landowners and corporations, incorporating them into the GGNRA. Many decommissioned Army bases and fortifications were incorporated into the park, including Fort Funston, four Nike missile sites, The Presidio, the latest acquisition by the National Park Service is Mori Point, a small parcel of land on the Pacifica coast. In 1988, UNESCO designated the GGNRA and 12 adjacent protected areas the Golden Gate Biosphere Reserve, the property, located south of Pacifica and surrounding the communities of Moss Beach and Montara, is home to many diverse plant and animal species. The bill passed in the Senate, but did not pass the House of Representatives, Fort Baker - former Army post located on the northern side of the Golden Gate Headlands Center for the Arts - an artist residency program set in renovated military buildings in the Marin Headlands. Nike Missile Site SF-88 - a decommissioned Army surface-to-air missile site located near Fort Barry, located at the southwestern corner of the Presidio Battery Chamberlin - one of the last remaining coastal defense disappearing guns on the U. S. Trails lead across the ridge and to Sharp Park beach, the site includes recently restored wetlands and a pond, protecting endangered San Francisco garter snake and red-legged frog habitat. Rancho Corral de Tierra - the GGNRAs newest park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area Scenery Video, a video showing the scenery observed from the GGNRA, including footage from Lands End
9.
Frederick Funston
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Frederick Funston also known as Fighting Fred Funston, was a general in the United States Army, best known for his role in the Spanish–American War and the Philippine–American War. He received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Philippine–American War, Funston was born in New Carlisle, Ohio to Edward H. Funston and Anne Eliza Mitchell Funston. In 1881 his family moved to Allen County, Kansas and his father, was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1884. While there, he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and became friends with future Pulitzer Prize winner William Allen White and he worked as a trainman for the Santa Fe Railroad before becoming a reporter in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1890. After one year as a journalist, Funston moved into more scientific exploration, after a bout of malaria, Funstons weight dropped to an alarming 95 pounds and he was given a leave of absence by the Cubans. When Funston returned to the United States, he was commissioned as a colonel of the 20th Kansas Infantry in the United States Army on May 13,1898, in the early days of the Spanish–American War. In the fall, he met Eda Blankart at a patriotic gathering, within two weeks of the marriage, he landed in the Philippines as part of the U. S. forces that would become engaged in the Philippine–American War. Funston was in command in various engagements with Filipino nationalists, in April 1899, he took a Filipino position at Calumpit by swimming the Bagbag River, then crossing the Pampanga River under heavy fire. For his bravery, Funston was soon promoted to the rank of general of Volunteers. Funston played the key role in planning and executing the capture of Filipino President Emilio Aguinaldo on March 23,1901, the capture of Aguinaldo made Funston a national hero, although the anti-imperialist faction attempted to tarnish when the details of the capture became known. Funstons party, escorted by a company of Macabebe scouts, had gained access to Aguinaldos camp by posing as prisoners of Macabebe scouts, in recognition of his capture of Aguinaldo, Funston was appointed a brigadier general in the Regular Army at the age of 35. Funstons dangerous mission to capture Aguinaldo brought him a Regular Army commission just as he was scheduled to be mustered out of the volunteer service. In 1902, Funston returned to the United States to increased opposition to the Philippine–American War. Mark Twain, an opponent of U. S. imperialism, published a sarcasm-filled denunciation of Funstons mission. Poet Ernest Crosby also wrote a satirical, anti-imperialist novel, Captain Jinks, Hero, on March 29,1899, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo arrived in San Isidro, Nueva Ecija, and proclaimed the town capital of the First Philippine Republic. He stayed in the house, using it as the de facto Philippine capitol, when the Americans occupied San Isidro, the Sideco house served as the headquarters of Gen. Frederick Funston, who would later capture General Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela. General Aguinaldos capture is said to have planned in this house. It is now occupied by a Christian organization, in 1906, Funston was in command of the Presidio of San Francisco when the 1906 San Francisco earthquake hit
10.
Artillery battery
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The term is also used in a naval context to describe groups of guns on warships. Historically the term referred to a cluster of cannon in action as a group. Such batteries could be a mixture of cannon, howitzer, or mortar types, a siege could involve many batteries at different sites around the besieged place. The term also came to be used for a group of cannon in a fixed fortification and they were usually organised with between six and 12 ordnance pieces, often including cannon and howitzers. By the late 19th century battery had become standard mostly replacing company or troop, in the 20th century the term was generally used for the company level sub-unit of an artillery branch including field, air-defence, anti-tank and position. 20th-century firing batteries have been equipped with mortars, guns, howitzers, rockets, during the Napoleonic Wars some armies started grouping their batteries into larger administrative and field units. Groups of batteries combined for field combat employment called Grand Batteries by Napoleon, administratively batteries were usually grouped in battalions, regiments or squadrons and these developed into tactical organisations. These were further grouped into regiments, simply group or brigades, to further concentrate fire of individual batteries, from World War I they were grouped into artillery divisions in a few armies. Coastal artillery sometimes had completely different organizational terms based on shore defence sector areas, the rank of a battery commander has also varied, but is usually a lieutenant, captain, or major. The number of guns, howitzers, mortars or launchers in a battery has also varied. In the 19th century four to 12 guns was usual as the number to maneuver into the gun line. By late 19th century the artillery battery was divided into a gun line. The gun line consisted of six guns and 12 ammunition mules, during the American Civil War, artillery batteries often consisted of six field pieces for the Union Army and four for the Confederate States Army, although this varied. Batteries were divided into sections of two guns apiece, each section normally under the command of a lieutenant, the full battery was typically commanded by a captain. Often, particularly as the war progressed, individual batteries were grouped into battalions under a major or colonel of artillery, in the 20th century it varied between four and 12 for field artillery, or even two pieces for very heavy pieces. Other types of such as anti-tank or anti-aircraft have sometimes been larger. Some batteries have been dual-equipped with two different types of gun or mortar, and taking whichever was more appropriate when they deployed for operations, from the late 19th century field artillery batteries started to become more complex organisations. Fixed artillery refers to guns or howitzers on mounts that were anchored in one spot, or on carriages intended to be moved only for the purposes of aiming
11.
Pacific Ocean
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The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of the Earths oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south and is bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, the Mariana Trench in the western North Pacific is the deepest point in the world, reaching a depth of 10,911 metres. Both the center of the Water Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere are in the Pacific Ocean, the oceans current name was coined by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the Spanish circumnavigation of the world in 1521, as he encountered favourable winds on reaching the ocean. He called it Mar Pacífico, which in both Portuguese and Spanish means peaceful sea, important human migrations occurred in the Pacific in prehistoric times. Long-distance trade developed all along the coast from Mozambique to Japan, trade, and therefore knowledge, extended to the Indonesian islands but apparently not Australia. By at least 878 when there was a significant Islamic settlement in Canton much of trade was controlled by Arabs or Muslims. In 219 BC Xu Fu sailed out into the Pacific searching for the elixir of immortality, from 1404 to 1433 Zheng He led expeditions into the Indian Ocean. The east side of the ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513 after his expedition crossed the Isthmus of Panama and he named it Mar del Sur because the ocean was to the south of the coast of the isthmus where he first observed the Pacific. Later, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the Pacific East to West on a Castilian expedition of world circumnavigation starting in 1519, Magellan called the ocean Pacífico because, after sailing through the stormy seas off Cape Horn, the expedition found calm waters. The ocean was often called the Sea of Magellan in his honor until the eighteenth century, sailing around and east of the Moluccas, between 1525 and 1527, Portuguese expeditions discovered the Caroline Islands, the Aru Islands, and Papua New Guinea. In 1542–43 the Portuguese also reached Japan, in 1564, five Spanish ships consisting of 379 explorers crossed the ocean from Mexico led by Miguel López de Legazpi and sailed to the Philippines and Mariana Islands. The Manila galleons operated for two and a half centuries linking Manila and Acapulco, in one of the longest trade routes in history, Spanish expeditions also discovered Tuvalu, the Marquesas, the Cook Islands, the Solomon Islands, and the Admiralty Islands in the South Pacific. In the 16th and 17th century Spain considered the Pacific Ocean a Mare clausum—a sea closed to other naval powers, as the only known entrance from the Atlantic the Strait of Magellan was at times patrolled by fleets sent to prevent entrance of non-Spanish ships. On the western end of the Pacific Ocean the Dutch threatened the Spanish Philippines, Spain also sent expeditions to the Pacific Northwest reaching Vancouver Island in southern Canada, and Alaska. The French explored and settled Polynesia, and the British made three voyages with James Cook to the South Pacific and Australia, Hawaii, and the North American Pacific Northwest, one of the earliest voyages of scientific exploration was organized by Spain in the Malaspina Expedition of 1789–1794. It sailed vast areas of the Pacific, from Cape Horn to Alaska, Guam and the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, and the South Pacific. Growing imperialism during the 19th century resulted in the occupation of much of Oceania by other European powers, and later, Japan, in Oceania, France got a leading position as imperial power after making Tahiti and New Caledonia protectorates in 1842 and 1853 respectively. After navy visits to Easter Island in 1875 and 1887, Chilean navy officer Policarpo Toro managed to negotiate an incorporation of the island into Chile with native Rapanui in 1888, by occupying Easter Island, Chile joined the imperial nations
12.
Ocean Beach, San Francisco
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Ocean Beach is a beach on the west coast of San Francisco, California, United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. It is adjacent to Golden Gate Park, the Richmond District, the Great Highway runs alongside the beach, and the Cliff House and the site of the former Sutro Baths sit at the northern end. The beach is a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, during the late spring and summer, San Franciscos characteristic foggy weather frequently envelops the beach. The average temperature for the last 5 years has been 13.2 °C However, more beach-friendly weather occurs in late fall and early spring, when fog is less prevalent. The water at Ocean Beach is noteworthy for its strong currents and waves, the rapid rip currents and cold water make the ocean dangerous for casual swimmers and even those who simply want to set foot in it, and swimmers have been swept away and drowned. Nevertheless, the beach is one of the Bay Areas top surfing spots, the southern portion of the beach by Sloat Boulevard is one of the cleanest in the state. Surfers and other swimmers have died at Ocean Beach, one occurred in May 2006. Prior to that, it had been five years since a death at Ocean Beach. In 1998, a seven people lost their lives there. The Ocean Beach surfing community is served by four surf shops, seal Rock is a prominent local feature of the area. Third Eye Blinds Motorcycle Drive By was written about this beach, on November 6,2011, Ocean Beach hosted the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition, in which Kelly Slater won his 11th ASP world championship at the age of 39. This was the one of his championships won in the continental United States. Due in part to its sometimes inhospitable weather, the area was largely undeveloped throughout most of San Franciscos early history, when it was known as part of the Outside Lands. By 1890, trolley lines reached Ocean Beach, the Ferries and Cliff House Railroad, Park & Ocean Railroad, the Cliff House, which opened in 1863, and Sutro Baths, which opened in 1896, drew thousands of visitors. Following a brief stint as a camp after the 1906 earthquake. A small amusement park, Playland at the Beach, was built where Cabrillo, major development occurred in the 1920s and 1930s with construction of the Great Highway and housing in the adjacent Sunset and Richmond Districts. On January 25,1878, the King Philip, a clipper ship, drifted onto Ocean Beach. From time to time, the wreckage of the ship still emerges from the sands just offshore, 49-Mile Scenic Drive A non commercial Ocean Beach San Francisco website including a live webcam and weather
