The Ohlone, formerly known as Costanoans, are a Native American people of the Northern California coast. When Spanish explorers and missionaries arrived in the late 18th century, the Ohlone inhabited the area along the coast from San Francisco Bay through Monterey Bay to the lower Salinas Valley. At that time they spoke a variety of related languages. The Ohlone languages make up a sub-family of the Utian language family. Older proposals place Utian within the Penutian language phylum, while newer proposals group it as Yok-Utian.
Ohlone people painted by Louis Choris
Replica of Ohlone Hut in the graveyard of Mission San Francisco de Asís, San Francisco
Ohlone dancers drawn by Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau
Watercolor of traditional Ohlone headdresses by Louis Choris
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.
