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65-770: 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 . During

130-408: A United States Public Health Service Quarantine Station, and a U.S. Bureau of Immigration inspection and detention facility. The Angel Island Immigration Station , on the northeast corner of the island, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark , is where officials detained, inspected, and examined approximately one million immigrants, who primarily came from Asia. Angel Island

195-540: A Chinese immigrant who worked in a rat-infested lumberyard in Chinatown, the San Francisco Health Board quickly quarantined the local area to neutralize possible disease-causing agents. Persons suspected of having any contact with this sickness were sent to isolation facilities. After more deaths, tissue samples were sent to Angel Island for testing to determine if they harbored Yersinia pestis ,

260-513: A helipad and the associated radar and tracking station (IFC). The missiles were removed in 1962, when the military left the island. The missile launch pad still exists, but the station atop Mount Caroline Livermore was restored to its original contours in 2006. The bubonic plague posed such a threat to the U.S. that Angel Island opened as a quarantine station in 1891 to screen Asian passengers and their baggage prior to landing on U.S. soil. The construction of this federally funded quarantine station

325-481: A land area of 3.107 square miles (8.05 square kilometers) and a population of 57 people as of the 2000 census . Angel Island emerged during the last Ice Age when the ocean, much lower and located miles to the west, shaped the landscape. The rocks of Angel Island are part of the Franciscan Complex , an extensive belt of marine sedimentary and igneous rocks which were deformed and metamorphosed during

390-459: A regular schedule. Fort McDowell was used as a detention station for Japanese , German and Italian immigrant residents of Hawaii arrested as potential fifth columnists (despite a lack of supporting evidence or access to due process). These internees were later transferred to inland Department of Justice and Army camps. Japanese and German prisoners of war were also held on the island, supplanting immigration needs, which were curtailed during

455-463: A transit station throughout the first half of the 20th century, with troops engaged in World War I embarking and returning there. During the war, the post was commanded by Colonel George K. McGunnegle , who reached the mandatory retirement age of 64 in 1918 but remained on duty until the end of the war. After the war, the disembarkation center was commanded by William P. Burnham , who had commanded

520-476: Is a subspecies of broad-footed mole endemic to Angel Island. The military had planted 24 acres of Bluegum Eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus globulus ) on the island for windbreaks, beautification, timber, and erosion control. By the mid-1980s, the area covered by eucalyptus had expanded to 86 acres. In the 1980s, California State Parks undertook environmental studies to remove most of the Eucalyptus from

585-553: Is an island in San Francisco Bay . The entire island is included within Angel Island State Park , administered by California State Parks . The island, a California Historical Landmark , has been used by humans for a variety of purposes, including seasonal hunting and gathering by indigenous peoples, water and timber supply for European ships, ranching by Mexicans, United States military installations,

650-616: Is named for Caroline Sealy Livermore . The island is almost entirely in the city of Tiburon , in Marin County , although there is a small sliver (0.7%) at the eastern end of it (Fort McDowell) which extends into the territory of the City and County of San Francisco . The island is separated from the mainland of Marin County by Raccoon Strait , the depth of the water approximately 90 feet (27 m). The United States Census Bureau reported

715-636: Is not recorded in the voyages of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo nor Francis Drake , both of whom may have explored the nearby coast in the 16th century in search of the fabled Northwest Passage . The strait is also unrecorded in observations by Spanish galleons on the Manila-Acapulco run from the Philippines that laid up in nearby Drakes Bay to the north. These rarely passed east of the Farallon Islands (27 miles (43 km) west of

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780-604: Is roughly, featuring steep ridges radiating from the central peak of the Mount Caroline Livermore. The rocks are diverse, including well-exposed serpentinite in the old quarry, sandstones and conglomerates containing clasts of glaucophane schist on Kayak Beach, meta-volcanics and cherts with dark blue amphibole and brown needles of stilpnomelane on Perles Beach. However, their relationships to one another are not well understood. The Franciscan Complex rocks are unconformably overlain by flat-lying sediments of

845-484: Is the second largest island in area of the San Francisco Bay ( Alameda is the largest). On a clear day, Sonoma and Napa can be seen from the north side of the island; San Jose can be seen from the south side of the island. The highest point on the island, almost exactly at its center, is Mount Caroline Livermore , more commonly known as simply Mt Livermore, at a height of 788 feet (240 meters). This peak

910-401: Is typically reserved for much larger, wider features of the marine environment. There are exceptions, with straits being called canals; Pearse Canal , for example. Straits are the converse of isthmuses . That is, while a strait lies between two land masses and connects two large areas of ocean, an isthmus lies between two areas of ocean and connects two large land masses. Some straits have

975-985: The 82nd Division in France during the war. On 6 May 1932 the Army created the San Francisco Port of Embarkation as a command which included the Overseas Replacement and Discharge Service at Fort McDowell, Fort Mason and the Pacific Army Transport Service ships and facilities. In 1938, hearings concerning charges of membership in the Communist political party against labor leader Harry Bridges were held on Angel Island before Dean James Landis of Harvard Law School . After eleven weeks of testimony that filled nearly 8,500 pages, Landis found in favor of Bridges. The decision

1040-545: The American Civil War , the U.S. Army was concerned about Confederate naval raiders attacking San Francisco. It decided to construct artillery batteries on Angel Island, first at Stuart (or Stewart) Point and then Point Knox. Col. René Edward De Russy was the Chief Engineer; James Terry Gardiner was the engineer tasked with designing and supervising the work. The Army established Fort Reynolds, which

1105-628: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. Immigrants had to prove that they had husbands or fathers who were U.S. citizens in order not to be deported. The immigration station at Angel Island was predominantly used to inspect, disinfect, and detain Chinese, Japanese, and other Asian immigrants who sailed across the Pacific Ocean. In addition to standard medical examinations, Chinese immigrants were inspected for parasitic diseases, and

1170-680: The Mesozoic Era . Metamorphism of the Franciscan Complex occurred at high pressures and low temperatures, producing indicator minerals jadeite and glaucophane , characteristic of subduction zone metamorphism . The rocks of Angel Island have been grouped with similar rocks displaying similar metamorphic minerals in the East Bay Hills and on the Tiburon Peninsula as the "Angel Island Nappe". The island's form

1235-555: The Point Reyes headlands, reported back to Portolá that he could not reach the location because of the existence of the strait. On August 5, 1775 Juan de Ayala and the crew of his ship San Carlos became the first Europeans known to have passed through the strait, anchoring in a cove behind Angel Island , the cove now named in Ayala's honor. Until the 1840s, the strait was called the "Boca del Puerto de San Francisco" ("Mouth of

1300-556: The Port of Richmond , and the Port of San Francisco . Commercial cargo ships use the Golden Gate to access the San Francisco Bay, as well as barges, tankers, fishing boats, cruise ships, and privately owned boats, including wind-surfers and kite-boards. About 9000 ships moved through the Golden Gate in 2014, and a similar amount in 2015. The U.S Coast Guard maintains a Vessel Traffic Service to monitor and regulate vessel traffic through

1365-590: The Spanish naval vessel San Carlos made the first European entry to the San Francisco Bay under the command of Juan de Ayala . Ayala anchored off Angel Island, and gave it its modern name ( Isla de los Ángeles ); the bay where he anchored is now known as Ayala Cove. In his book Two Years Before the Mast , published in 1841, Richard Henry Dana Jr. mentions in chapter 26, that in 1834 his sailing ship collected wood from "a small island, about two leagues from

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1430-468: The Suez Canal . Although rivers and canals often provide passage between two large lakes, and these seem to suit the formal definition of strait, they are not usually referred to as such. Rivers and often canals, generally have a directional flow tied to changes in elevation, whereas straits often are free flowing in either direction or switch direction, maintaining the same elevation. The term strait

1495-592: The last ice age , when sea level was several hundred feet lower, the waters of the glacier-fed Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River scoured a deep channel through the bedrock on their way to the ocean. (A similar process created the undersea Hudson Canyon off the coast of New York and New Jersey .) The strait is well known today for its depth and powerful tidal currents from the Pacific Ocean. Many small whirlpools and eddies can form in its waters. With its strong currents, rocky reefs and fog ,

1560-463: The 1950s to build the Nike missile radar and tracking installation, was re-contoured to resemble its original appearance, and increased 16 feet in height as a result. The access road up the west side of the mountain was removed, and replaced with a winding trail up the east side. On October 12, 2008, at approximately 9 p.m. PDT , a fire visible from all around the San Francisco Bay broke out on

1625-693: The 19th century allowed annual grasses introduced from Southern Europe to replace the native perennial grasses. Before European colonization, the Angel Island area maintained a diverse oak woodland ecosystem consisting of coast live oak, California Bay, and madrone. Additionally, grasslands and coastal scrub primarily covered shrubbery in the South and West portions. Ongoing removal of non-native plants, including French broom ( Genista monspessulana ), Italian thistle ( Carduus pycnocephalus ) and Ice plant ( Carpobrotus edulis ), continues in an effort to restore

1690-515: The Angel Island immigration station began in 1905 but was not used until 1910. This zone was known as China Cove. It was built for controlling Chinese entry into the United States. From 1910 to 1940, Angel Island served as an immigration station processing immigrants from 84 countries, mostly from China, Japan, Russia and South Asia (in that order). The purpose of the immigration station was to investigate Chinese who had been denied entry from

1755-528: The Colma Formation near Blunt Point on the south coast of the island. These sandstones are only weakly consolidated and are eroding to provide a supply of sand to the south coast of the island, in contrast to the northern and western beaches which are dominated by pebbles and cobbles. The shape of the hillslopes on Angel Island include the scars of prehistoric landslides and mass wasting, and deposits of eroded material may have been transported away from

1820-591: The Golden Gate is the site of over 100 shipwrecks . The Golden Gate is often shrouded in coastal fog , especially during the summer. Heat generated in the California Central Valley causes air there to rise, creating a low pressure area that pulls in cool, moist air from over the Pacific Ocean. The Golden Gate forms the largest break in the hills of the California Coast Range , allowing a persistent, dense stream of fog to enter

1885-566: The Golden Gate), for fear of the possibility of rocks between the islands and the mainland. The first recorded observation of the strait occurred nearly two hundred years later than the earliest European explorations of the coast. In 1769, Sgt José Francisco Ortega , the leader of a scouting party sent north along the San Francisco Peninsula by Don Gaspar de Portolá from their expedition encampment in San Pedro Valley to locate

1950-526: The Golden Gate. For navigational guidance, there are white and green lights on the center of the span of the Golden Gate Bridge. Lighthouses with beacons and foghorns provide alerts at Point Bonita , Point Diablo , Lime Point and Mile Rocks . Before the Golden Gate Bridge was built, a lighthouse protected the south side of the strait at Fort Point . Buoys and radar reflectors provide additional navigational aid at various locations throughout

2015-530: The Orient". The U.S. Post Office issued a postage stamp on May 1, 1923, celebrating The Golden Gate , portraying the schooner USS Babcock passing through an empty strait. The Babcock served in the United States Navy from 1917 to 1919, with San Francisco as its port of call. In 1933 construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge , a suspension bridge connecting the city of San Francisco on

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2080-519: The Port of San Francisco"). On July 1, 1846, before the discovery of gold in California , the entrance acquired a new name. In his memoirs, John C. Frémont wrote: "To this Gate I gave the name of 'Chrysopylae', or 'Golden Gate'; for the same reasons that the harbor of Byzantium was called Chrysoceras, or Golden Horn ." He went on to comment that the strait was "a golden gate to trade with

2145-667: The United States, after the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York City . In 2007, it was ranked fifth on the List of America's Favorite Architecture by the American Institute of Architects . The Golden Gate strait serves as the primary access channel for navigation to and from the San Francisco Bay, one of the largest cargo ports in the United States. Commercial ports includes the Port of Oakland ,

2210-660: The West. In the later 19th century, the army designated the entire island as "Fort McDowell" and developed further facilities there, including what is now called the East Garrison or Fort McDowell. A quarantine station was opened in Ayala Cove (which at the time was known as Hospital Cove) in 1891. During the Spanish–American War the island served as a discharge depot for returning troops. It continued to serve as

2275-625: The Yerba Buena anchorage, called by us 'Wood Island' and by the Mexicans 'Isla de los Ángeles' and was covered with trees to the waters edge." It is shown, labeled I. de los Angeles , on an 1850 survey map of the San Francisco Bay Area made by Cadwalader Ringgold and an 1854 map of the area by Henry Lange . Quarry operations began in the 1850s on the east side of the island near Quarry Point, with quarried stones used in

2340-432: The bacteria responsible for spreading the bubonic plague. At this time, the plague was difficult to diagnose due to other diseases which could mask the presence of plague. The culture was tested on animals for four days, and Y. pestis was confirmed. Bacteriologist Joseph J. Kinyoun , who was stationed at Angel Island in 1899, believed that the plague would spread throughout San Francisco's Chinatown. The construction of

2405-483: The bay there. Although there is no weather station on Golden Gate proper, the area has a mediterranean climate ( Köppen Csb ) with very narrow temperature fluctuations, cool summers and mild winters. For the nearest weather station see the weatherbox of San Francisco . The Golden Gate Bridge being nearer the ocean and at elevation indicate it being cooler during summer days. Nearer the San Francisco urban core,

2470-549: The birth of Angel Island State Park. Additional acreage was purchased four years later, in 1959. The last federal Department of Defense personnel withdrew in 1962, turning over the entire island as a state park in December of the same year. There is one active United States Coast Guard lighthouse on the island at Point Blunt . The lighthouse at Point Stuart has been disestablished. The island's native plant communities include coastal grassland and coastal scrub , mostly on

2535-532: The construction of a new fortress on Alcatraz Island , a new Navy shipyard on Mare Island , and a bank in San Francisco. In 1867, General McDowell took control of the quarry and used it for Army construction at Fort Point , the San Francisco Presidio , and on Angel Island itself. Like much of the California coast, Angel Island was subsequently used for cattle ranching. In 1863, during

2600-403: The ferry or rented seasonally on land and used on the island's main roads. Electric scooters and Segways can also be rented. Due to the terrain, roller skates, roller blades, skateboards, kick scooters , and personal Segway scooters are prohibited. Dogs (except service dogs) are not allowed. Wood fires are prohibited. Charcoal fires are allowed, but charcoal is not available for purchase on

2665-485: The former military bases and immigration station. Mule deer ( Odocoileus hemionus ) were reintroduced to the island by the army in 1915 for hunting. In the absence of predators, the deer population expanded and overgrazed the island. The deer population is now managed annually by California State Parks and the Department of Fish and Game. In 2002, the summit of Mount Caroline Livermore, which had been flattened in

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2730-401: The island and spread to an estimated 100 acres (40 ha) within an hour. By 8 a.m. the next morning, the fire had scorched 250 acres (100 ha) – a third of the island – and was 20 percent contained. Firefighters ran around from the mainland and helicopters dropped water and fire retardants to protect the historical buildings and extinguish the fire that

2795-448: The island by currents in the San Francisco Bay. Until about 10,000 years ago, Angel Island was connected to the mainland; it was cut off by the rise in sea levels due to the end of the last ice age . From about 2,000 years ago, the island was a fishing and hunting site for Coast Miwok Native Americans . Similar evidence of Native American settlement is found on the nearby mainland of the Tiburon Peninsula upon Ring Mountain . In 1775,

2860-594: The island sheltered from the westerly winds from the Golden Gate . It is thought that the Coast Miwoks used regular fires to expand the grassland and shrublands at the expense of the woodlands. Commodities from continents worldwide have seamlessly merged into the environment through livestock transportation and Spanish missionaries' seed cultivation. The grasslands and shrublands provided edible seeds and bulbs, and supported larger numbers of deer and small game. The Angel Island Mole, Scapanus latimanus insularis ,

2925-408: The island's south- and west-facing slopes and ridge tops, and evergreen woodland – predominantly of Coast Live Oak ( Quercus agrifolia ), bay ( Umbellularia californica ), toyon ( Heteromeles arbutifolia ) , and madrone ( Arbutus menziesii ), with California Hazelnut ( Corylus cornuta ) and Western Sword Fern ( Polystichum munitum ) in the understory – on the eastern and northern portions of

2990-440: The island, in order to restore native flora and reduce fire danger. The proposal generated controversy and received much local media coverage, and was approved to begin in 1990. Eucalyptus were removed from 80 acres between 1990 and 1997, and nursery-grown native plants were planted in the cleared areas. Six acres of historically significant eucalyptus trees were retained. As elsewhere in California, intensive cattle grazing in

3055-406: The island. There are 11 environmental campsites, including an ADA site, 9 numbered sites (each site accommodating up to 8 people), and a kayak-accessible group site (holds up to 20 people). Night travel on the island is prohibited in some areas for reasons of park security and public safety. Metal detectors, while allowed, are not recommended, because digging or disturbing the soil or ground in

3120-528: The island. Golden Gate Ferry operates ferries to the San Francisco Ferry Building . During the off-season (October–March), all ferries run a reduced schedule. All ferry fares include park admission. Private boats can also access the island. The California State Park Annual Day Use Pass can be used to pay day use dock fees for private boats, but it is not accepted from visitors coming via the public ferries. Bicycles can be brought on

3185-618: The last gathering of around 200 immigrants, including around 150 Chinese, were exchanged from Angel Island to brief quarters in San Francisco. In 1964, the Chinese American community successfully lobbied the State of California to designate the immigration station as a State Landmark. Today, the Angel Island Immigration Station is a federally designated National Historic Landmark . The detention barrack

3250-429: The northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula to Marin County . Today it is part of both US Highway 101 and California Route 1 . The Bridge was the longest suspension bridge span in the world when completed in 1937 and is an internationally recognized symbol of San Francisco and the state of California . Since its completion the span has been surpassed by eighteen other bridges and remains second longest in

3315-704: The original evergreen woodland, perennial grassland, and coastal scrub plant communities. In addition to the eucalyptus, plantings from the military period of Monterey Pine ( Pinus radiata ), Cork Oak ( Quercus suber ), Australian Blackwood ( Acacia melanoxylon ) , Canary Island Date Palm ( Phoenix canariensis ), Century Plant ( Agave americana ), Japanese Redwood ( Cryptomeria japonica ), Incense Cedar ( Calocedrus decurrens ), Deodar Cedar ( Cedrus deodara ), Coast Redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens ), Giant Sequoia ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ), Norfolk Island Pine ( Araucaria heterophylla ) , Monkey puzzle tree ( Araucaria araucana ) and others can be found in and around

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3380-472: The potential to generate significant tidal power using tidal stream turbines . Tides are more predictable than wave power or wind power . The Pentland Firth (a strait) may be capable of generating 10  GW . Cook Strait in New Zealand may be capable of generating 5.6 GW even though the total energy available in the flow is 15 GW. Straits used for international navigation through

3445-455: The station and Chinese immigrants could be detained for a period as short as two weeks to as long as two years. A person's racial identity and social class determined the intensity of the examination imposed, resulting in fewer white Europeans and American citizens being subjected to the inspections. A fire destroyed the administration building in 1940, and subsequent immigration processing took place in San Francisco. On November fifth of 1940,

3510-533: The strait. Strait The terms channel , pass , or passage can be synonymous and used interchangeably with strait , although each is sometimes differentiated with varying senses. In Scotland, firth or Kyle are also sometimes used as synonyms for strait. Many straits are economically important. Straits can be important shipping routes and wars have been fought for control of them. Numerous artificial channels, called canals , have been constructed to connect two oceans or seas over land, such as

3575-510: The temperatures resemble the official NOAA weather station instead. Before Europeans arrived in the 18th century, the area around the strait and the bay was inhabited by Native Americans  – the Ohlone people to the south and Coast Miwok to the north. Descendants of both tribes remain in the area. The opening to the strait was surprisingly elusive for early European explorers, presumably due to persistent summer fog. The strait

3640-423: The territorial sea between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone are subject to the legal regime of transit passage ( Strait of Gibraltar , Dover Strait , Strait of Hormuz ). The regime of innocent passage applies in straits used for international navigation (1) that connect a part of high seas or an exclusive economic zone with

3705-617: The territorial sea of a coastal nation ( Straits of Tiran , Strait of Juan de Fuca , Strait of Baltiysk ) and (2) in straits formed by an island of a state bordering the strait and its mainland if there exists seaward of the island a route through the high seas or through an exclusive economic zone of similar convenience with respect to navigational and hydrographical characteristics ( Strait of Messina , Pentland Firth ). There may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits. [REDACTED] Media related to Straits at Wikimedia Commons Angel Island, California Angel Island

3770-407: The tests for intestinal parasites required a stool specimen. Immigrants described the examination and disinfection process as brutal, humiliating, and indecent. Passengers who were found to be sick were sent to the hospital in the immigration station until they could pass a medical examination and an immigration hearing. Investigation processes determined the length of time an immigrant would stay at

3835-508: The trees mostly undamaged. The fire burned several stands of Monterey Pine ( Pinus radiata ) originally planted by the U.S. Army, which will be restored to native evergreen woodlands. Prior fires include one in 2005 that burned 25 acres (10 ha), and a smaller 2–3-acre blaze in 2004. Access to the island is only by boat at Ayala Cove Ferry Terminal . There is ferry service to the island from San Francisco or from Tiburon . The Angel Island-Tiburon Ferry operates daily from Tiburon to

3900-497: The war years. After World War II ended, the reorganization of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation did not include Fort McDowell, and the post was decommissioned on August 28, 1946. In 1954 a Nike missile station was installed on the island. The missile magazines were constructed above Point Blunt on the island's southeast corner, and the top of Mount Ida (now Mount Caroline Livermore) was flattened to make way for

3965-583: Was accepted by the United States Department of Labor and Bridges was freed. During World War II, the need for troops in the Pacific far exceeded prior needs. The facilities on Angel Island were expanded and further processing was done at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Prior to the war, the infrastructure had been expanded, including building the Army ferry USAT  General Frank M. Coxe , which transported troops to and from Angel Island on

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4030-402: Was completed in 1890 at a cost of approximately $ 99,000. The compound contained many separate buildings including detention barracks, disinfection facilities, convalescence quarters, and an isolation hospital that was known as the "leper's house". Even with the new construction, the facilities were lacking in cleanliness, staffing and adequate space. In response to the death of Wong Chut King,

4095-470: Was fully contained by October 14, 2008, at approximately 7 p.m. 380 of the island's 740 acres (300 ha) were burned in the fire. With the exception of one abandoned water tank, no structures were lost in the fire. Firefighting efforts were coordinated from the USCGC Sockeye . In portions of the evergreen woodlands, the fire burned through quickly, consuming the understory, but leaving

4160-598: Was garrisoned by Battery B, 3rd Artillery Regiment . The post was named by Second Lieutenant John L. Tiernon , commander of Battery B, in honor of John F. Reynolds , a Union Army general who had been killed at the Battle of Gettysburg . This portion of the island is now known as Camp Reynolds or the West Garrison, and it subsequently became an infantry garrison during the US campaigns against Native American peoples in

4225-627: Was renovated by the California State Parks, which reopened February 16, 2009. Docent tours for school groups can be made by appointment. After sitting vacant since World War II, the hospital near the detention barrack was renovated, at a cost of $ 15 million from a variety of federal, state and private sources, and opened as a museum in 2022. In 1955, the State Park Commission authorized California State Parks to purchase 38 acres (15 ha) around Ayala Cove, marking

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