The Golden Gate is a strait on the west coast of North America that connects San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. It is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, and, since 1937, has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire shoreline and adjacent waters throughout the strait are managed by the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
Fog rolls into San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate, almost obscuring Alcatraz Island
Fog obscures the Golden Gate as it spills into San Francisco Bay in this satellite image
The Golden Gate photographed from Telegraph Hill by Carleton Watkins c. 1868
San Francisco Bay and Golden Gate
San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.
San Francisco Bay
Aerial panorama of the northern Bay, the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate, and Marin Headlands on a clear morning. November 2014 photo by Doc Searls.
Panorama of San Francisco Bay, and the city skyline seen from Marin County in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Population density and low elevation coastal zones in San Francisco Bay (2010). The San Francisco Bay is especially vulnerable to sea level rise.