1.
San Mateo County, California
–
San Mateo County is a county located in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 718,451, the county seat is Redwood City. San Mateo County is included in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is part of the San Francisco Bay Area and it covers most of the San Francisco Peninsula. San Francisco International Airport is located at the end of the county. The countys built-up areas are mostly suburban with some areas being very urban, San Mateo County was formed in 1856 after San Francisco County, one of the states 18 original counties since Californias statehood in 1850, was split apart. Until 1856, San Franciscos city limits extended west to Divisadero Street and Castro Street, in response to the lawlessness and vigilantism that escalated rapidly between 1855 and 1856, the California government decided to divide the county. A straight line was drawn across the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula just north of San Bruno Mountain. The consolidated city-county of San Francisco was formed by an introduced by Horace Hawes. San Mateo County was officially organized on 18 April 1857 under a bill introduced by Senator T. G, San Mateo County then annexed part of northern Santa Cruz County in March 1868, including Pescadero and Pigeon Point. Although the forming bill named Redwood City the county seat, a May 1856 election marked by unblushing frauds, perpetuated on an unorganized and wholly unprotected community by thugs and ballot stuffers from San Francisco named Belmont the county seat. The election results were declared illegal and the county government was moved to Redwood City, Redwood Citys status as county seat was upheld in two succeeding elections in May 1861 and 9 December 1873, defeating San Mateo and Belmont. Another election in May 1874 named San Mateo the county seat, but the supreme court overturned that election on 24 February 1875. San Mateo County bears the Spanish name for Saint Matthew, until about 1850, the name appeared as San Matheo. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the county has an area of 741 square miles. It is the third-smallest county in California by land area, a number of bayside watercourses drain the eastern part of the county including San Bruno Creek and Colma Creek. Streams draining the county include Frenchmans Creek, Pilarcitos Creek, Naples Creek, Arroyo de en Medio. These streams originate along the spur of the Santa Cruz Mountains that run through the county. San Mateo County straddles the San Francisco Peninsula, with the Santa Cruz Mountains running its entire length, the county encompasses a variety of habitats including estuarine, marine, oak woodland, redwood forest, coastal scrub and oak savannah
2.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Body of water
–
A body of water or waterbody is any significant accumulation of water, generally on a planets surface. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, a body of water does not have to be still or contained, Rivers, streams, canals, and other geographical features where water moves from one place to another are also considered bodies of water. Most are naturally occurring geographical features, but some are artificial, there are types that can be either. For example, most reservoirs are created by engineering dams, similarly, most harbors are naturally occurring bays, but some harbors have been created through construction. Bodies of water that are navigable are known as waterways, some bodies of water collect and move water, such as rivers and streams, and others primarily hold water, such as lakes and oceans. The term body of water can also refer to a reservoir of water held by a plant, note that there are some geographical features involving water that are not bodies of water, for example waterfalls, geysers and rapids. Arm of the sea - also sea arm, used to describe a sea loch, arroyo - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, or seasonally. Artificial lake or artificial pond - see reservoir or impoundment, barachois - a lagoon separated from the ocean by a sand bar. Bay - an area of water bordered by land on three sides, similar to, but smaller than a gulf, bayou - a slow-moving stream or a marshy lake. Bight - a large and often only slightly receding bay, or a bend in any geographical feature, billabong - see Oxbow lake, a pond or still body of water created when a river changes course and some water becomes trapped. Boil - see Seep Brook - a small stream, canal - an artificial waterway, usually connected to existing lakes, rivers, or oceans. Channel - the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean consisting of a bed. See also stream bed and strait, earth scientists generally use the term to describe a circular or round inlet with a narrow entrance, though colloquially the term is sometimes used to describe any sheltered bay. Basin - a region of land where water from rain or snowmelt drains downhill into another body of water, such as a river, lake, creek - an inlet of the sea, narrower than a cove. Delta - the location where a river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, distributary or distributary channel - a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Draw - a usually dry creek bed or gulch that temporarily fills with water after a heavy rain, fjord - a submergent landform which has occurred due to glacial activity. Glacier - a large collection of ice or a river that moves slowly down a mountain. Glacial Pothole - see Kettle Gulf - a part of a lake or ocean that extends so that it is surrounded by land on three sides, similar to, but larger than a bay, headland - an area of water bordered by land on three sides
4.
Tide
–
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
5.
Marsh
–
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species. Marshes can often be found at the edges of lakes and streams and they are often dominated by grasses, rushes or reeds. If woody plants are present they tend to be low-growing shrubs, Marshes provide a habitat for many species of plants, animals, and insects that have adapted to living in flooded conditions. The plants must be able to survive in wet mud with low oxygen levels, many of these plants therefore have aerenchyma, channels within the stem that allow air to move from the leaves into the rooting zone. Marsh plants also tend to have rhizomes for underground storage and reproduction, familiar examples include cattails, sedges, papyrus and sawgrass. Aquatic animals, from fish to salamanders, are able to live with a low amount of oxygen in the water. Some can obtain oxygen from the air instead, while others can live indefinitely in conditions of low oxygen, Marshes provide habitats for many kinds of invertebrates, fish, amphibians, waterfowl and aquatic mammals. Marshes have extremely high levels of production, some of the highest in the world. Marshes also improve water quality by acting as a sink to filter pollutants, Marshes are able to absorb water during periods of heavy rainfall and slowly release it into waterways and therefore reduce the magnitude of flooding. The pH in marshes tends to be neutral to alkaline, as opposed to bogs, Marshes differ depending mainly on their location and salinity. Both of these factors influence the range and scope of animal and plant life that can survive. The three main types of marsh are salt marshes, freshwater marshes, and freshwater marshes. These three can be found worldwide and each contains a different set of organisms, saltwater marshes are found around the world in mid to high latitudes, wherever there are sections of protected coastline. They are located close enough to the shoreline that the motion of the tides affects them and they flourish where the rate of sediment buildup is greater than the rate at which the land level is sinking. Salt marshes are dominated by specially adapted rooted vegetation, primarily salt-tolerant grasses, salt marshes are most commonly found in lagoons, estuaries, and on the sheltered side of shingle or sandspit. The currents there carry the fine particles around to the side of the spit. These locations allow the marshes to absorb the nutrients from the water running through them before they reach the oceans. Coastal development and urban sprawl has caused significant loss of these essential habitats, although considered a freshwater marsh, this form of marsh is affected by the ocean tides
6.
San Mateo, California
–
San Mateo is a city in San Mateo County, California, in the high-tech enclave of Silicon Valley in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 2015 population was estimated to be 103,536, San Mateo was incorporated in 1894. Documented by Spanish colonists as part of the Rancho de las Pulgas and the Rancho San Mateo, in 1789 the Spanish missionaries had named a Native American village along Laurel Creek as Los Laureles or the Laurels. At the time of Mexican Independence there were 30 native Californians at San Mateo, an 1835 sketch map of the Rancho refers to the creek as arroyo de los Laureles. In the 21st century, most of the laurels are gone, in 1810 Coyote Point was an early recorded feature of San Mateo. Beginning in the 1850s, some wealthy San Franciscans began building summer or permanent homes in the milder mid-peninsula, while most of this early settlement occurred in adjacent Hillsborough and Burlingame, a number of historically important mansions and buildings were constructed in San Mateo. A. P. Giannini, founder of the Bank of Italy and his mansion, Seven Oaks, is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Located at 20 El Cerrito Drive, it has been deteriorating as it has not been preserved or occupied for years, in 1858 Sun Water Station, a stage station of the Butterfield Overland Mail route, was established in San Mateo. It was located 9 miles south of Clarks Station in what is now San Bruno and 9 miles north of the station at Redwood City. The Howard Estate was built in 1859 on the hill accessed by Crystal Springs Road, the Parrott Estate was erected in 1860 in the same area, giving rise to two conflicting names for the hill, Howard Hill and Parrot Hill. After use of the changed traffic patterns, neither historic name was commonly applied to that hill. The Borel Estate was developed near Borel Creek in 1874 and it has been redeveloped since the late 20th century for use as modern offices and shops. The property is managed and owned by Borel Place Associates and the Borel Estate Company, a smaller portion of the property and the mansion, was converted into The Peninsula Hotel in 1908, following Haywards death in 1904. The Hotel burned down in a fire on 25 June 1920. In the early 20th century, Japanese immigrants came to San Mateo to work in the salt ponds, although Japanese-Americans only account for 2. 2% of the population today, they continue to be a major cultural influence and a draw for the rest of the region. The Eugene J. De Sabla Japanese Teahouse and Garden was established in 1894 at 70 De Sabla Road, designed by Makoto Hagiwara and he arranged for Japanese artisans to be brought to the United States primarily for its teahouse construction. The parcel was purchased in 1988 by San Francisco businessman Achille Paladini and wife Joan, the garden features hundreds of varieties of plants and several rare trees. A large koi pond surrounds an island, the property was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992
7.
Foster City, California
–
Foster City is a planned city located in San Mateo County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 30,567. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley for its local industry, Foster City was founded in the 1960s on engineered landfill in the marshes of the San Francisco Bay, on the east edge of San Mateo. The city was named after T, jack Foster, a real estate magnate who owned much of the land comprising the city and who was instrumental in its initial design. His successor firm, Foster Enterprises, run by his descendants, is active in real estate affairs throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Forbes ranked Foster City #10 on their 2009 list of Americas Top 25 Towns to Live Well, Money has also recognized Foster City multiple times as one of the Best Places to Live. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 19.8 square miles. The total area is 81. 07% water, the 2010 United States Census reported that Foster City had a population of 30,567. The population density was 8,138.2 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Foster City was 13,912 White,576 African American,29 Native American,13,746 Asian,189 Pacific Islander,575 from other races, hispanic or Latino of any race were 1,995 persons. The Census reported that 30,458 people lived in households,52 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, There were 531 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 75 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,807 households were made up of individuals and 860 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.53. There were 8,406 families, the family size was 3.04. The median age was 39.3 years, for every 100 females there were 93.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males. There were 12,458 housing units at a density of 3,316.8 per square mile, of which 6,958 were owner-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0. 8%, the vacancy rate was 3. 5%. 18,423 people lived in owner-occupied housing units and 12,035 people lived in housing units
8.
River delta
–
A river delta is a landform that forms from deposition of sediment carried by a river as the flow leaves its mouth and enters slower-moving or standing water. This occurs where a river enters an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, River deltas are ecologically important as they provide coastline defense, are home to many species, and can impact drinking water supply. The tidal currents also cannot be too strong, as sediment would wash out into the body faster than the river deposits it. Of course, the river must carry enough sediment to layer into deltas over time, the rivers velocity decreases rapidly, causing it to deposit the majority, if not all, of its load. This alluvium builds up to form the river delta, when the flow enters the standing water, it is no longer confined to its channel and expands in width. This flow expansion results in a decrease in the flow velocity, as a result, sediment drops out of the flow and deposits. Over time, this single channel builds a deltaic lobe, pushing its mouth into the standing water, as the deltaic lobe advances, the gradient of the river channel becomes lower because the river channel is longer but has the same change in elevation. As the slope of the channel decreases, it becomes unstable for two reasons. First, gravity makes the flow in the most direct course down slope. If the river breaches its natural levees, it out onto a new course with a shorter route to the ocean. Second, as its slope gets lower, the amount of stress on the bed decreases, which results in deposition of sediment within the channel. This makes it easier for the river to breach its levees, often when the channel does this, some of its flow remains in the abandoned channel. When these channel-switching events occur, a mature delta develops a distributary network, another way these distributary networks form is from deposition of mouth bars. When this mid-channel bar is deposited at the mouth of a river and this results in additional deposition on the upstream end of the mouth-bar, which splits the river into two distributary channels. A good example of the result of this process is the Wax Lake Delta, in both of these cases, depositional processes force redistribution of deposition from areas of high deposition to areas of low deposition. This results in the smoothing of the shape of the delta as the channels move across its surface. Because the sediment is laid down in fashion, the shape of these deltas approximates a fan. The more often the flow changes course, the shape develops as closer to an ideal fan, the Mississippi and Ural River deltas, with their birds-feet, are examples of rivers that do not avulse often enough to form a symmetrical fan shape
9.
Wetland
–
A wetland is a land area that is saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, such that it takes on the characteristics of a distinct ecosystem. The primary factor that distinguishes wetlands from other forms or water bodies is the characteristic vegetation of aquatic plants. Wetlands play a number of roles in the environment, principally water purification, flood control, carbon sink, Wetlands are also considered the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, serving as home to a wide range of plant and animal life. Wetlands occur naturally on every continent except Antarctica, the largest including the Amazon River basin, the West Siberian Plain, the water found in wetlands can be freshwater, brackish, or saltwater. The main wetland types include swamps, marshes, bogs, and fens, and sub-types include mangrove, carr, pocosin, the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment determined that environmental degradation is more prominent within wetland systems than any other ecosystem on Earth. International conservation efforts are being used in conjunction with the development of rapid assessment tools to people about wetland issues. Constructed wetlands can be used to treat municipal and industrial wastewater as well as stormwater runoff and they may also play a role in water-sensitive urban design. A patch of land that develops pools of water after a storm would not be considered a wetland. Wetlands have unique characteristics, they are distinguished from other water bodies or landforms based on their water level. Specifically, wetlands are characterized as having a table that stands at or near the land surface for a long enough period each year to support aquatic plants. A more concise definition is a community composed of hydric soil, Wetlands have also been described as ecotones, providing a transition between dry land and water bodies. In environmental decision-making, there are subsets of definitions that are agreed upon to make regulatory and policy decisions. A wetland is an ecosystem that arises when inundation by water produces soils dominated by anaerobic processes, There are four main kinds of wetlands – marsh, swamp, bog and fen. Some experts also recognize wet meadows and aquatic ecosystems as additional wetland types, the largest wetlands in the world include the swamp forests of the Amazon and the peatlands of Siberia. Under the Ramsar international wetland conservation treaty, wetlands are defined as follows, Article 2.1, may incorporate riparian and coastal zones adjacent to the wetlands, and islands or bodies of marine water deeper than six metres at low tide lying within the wetlands. Although the general definition given above applies around the world, each county, Wetlands generally include swamps, marshes, bogs and similar areas. This definition has been used in the enforcement of the Clean Water Act, some US states, such as Massachusetts and New York, have separate definitions that may differ from the federal governments. It is not uncommon for a wetland to be dry for long portions of the growing season, the most important factor producing wetlands is flooding
