San Francisco Michael Maransky. General Information Population: 776, 700 The official language of San Francisco is English, but Spanish and Chinese is.

San FranciscoMichael Maransky

General Information

• Population: 776, 700• The official language of San Francisco is English, but

Spanish and Chinese is also spoken there.• Some of San Francisco’s nicknames are the Golden Gate

City, Fog City, and San Fran.

San Francisco SealA trolley in the Golden Gate City

HistorySan Francisco is a city that was born from the Gold Rush. When gold was discovered in California in 1849, many people went California and settled in a town that they called San Francisco. In that year, over 50,000 people traveled to San Francisco from the east. After the Gold Rush, everyone stayed in San Francisco and started businesses and built homes. Then San Francisco became a booming city.

Poster for the Gold Rush

Geography and Climate San Francisco is located on the tip of a peninsula. It is surrounded by three bodies of water, the Pacific Ocean, the Golden Gate strait, and the San Francisco Bay. San Francisco is located in a very hilly area. Some streets have switchbacks for the cars because the hill is so steep. San Francisco has a relatively cool climate. The temperature is usually between 44° and and 73°F. San Francisco is cool because it is located on the San Francisco Bay. The wind from the bay makes the temperature a lot cooler.

San Francisco Bay

Government

California StateThe State of California has a democratic- republic government. The state governor is Jerry Brown.

San FranciscoSan Francisco follows the same government as the state of California. The mayor of San Francisco is Edwin M. Lee.

Jerry Brown Edwin M. Lee

Tourist Attractions

Alcatraz Island PrisonAlcatraz is a prison located on an island that is 1.5 miles off of the coast of San Francisco. The prison was occupied from 1934 to 1963. Some of the most notorious criminals in history were imprisoned there, including Al Capone and “Machine Gun” Kelly. Alcatraz now offers tours where you can walk around and see the prison cells. Over 1 million people visit Alcatraz each year.

Cell in the prison

Alcatraz Island

Tourist Attractions

Golden Gate BridgeThe Golden Gate Bridge is what San Francisco is most known for. It is 8,981 feet long and it took four years to build. It connects San Francisco to Marin County. There are many things that you can do at the bridge. Most people walk or bike across the bridge, but people also like to sit by the bay and watch the cars drive on the bridge.

Golden Gate Bridge at night

The Golden Gate Bridge

Tourist Attractions

Lombard StreetLombard Street is one of the steepest and most crooked street in the world. It has switchbacks because the hill is too steep for cars to straight up and down. Lombard Street is also known for its beauty. It has trees and flowers all over the place. Many people go to Lombardi Street just to walk up it and see the view from the top. You can see Alcatraz and almost the entire city.

View from to top of

Lombard Street

Lombard Street

Tourist Attractions

ChinatownSan Francisco has the largest Chinatown in the world outside of Asia. In Chinatown, you can take guided walking tours where learn about the history and culture of Chinatown. There are also many good restaurants there. Chinatown gets more visitors annually than the Golden Gate Bridge does.

Main Street Chinatown

Tourist Attractions

Fisherman’s WharfFisherman’s Wharf is one of the most interesting places to visit in San Francisco. It has some of the best restaurants in San Francisco. Besides dining, you can also go to Pier 39 and see sea lions basking on the docks. It is very interesting to see wildlife like that in the middle of a city. It is also home to The Wax Museum at Fisherman’s Wharf where you can see wax statues of famous people.

Sea Lions at Pier 39

New Year’s EveSan Francisco has a big New Year’s Eve celebration. On December 31, thousands of San Franciscans come to see waterfront fireworks over the Golden Gate Bridge. The fireworks begin as soon as the clock strokes midnight.

Fireworks in San Francisco

Major EconomySan Francisco’s major economy is trade and shipping, because of its location by the San Francisco Bay. It handles almost 30 percent of trade on the west coast of the United States. The San Francisco National Airport, the fourteenth largest airport in the world, also ships a lot of goods to places. San Francisco is also home to some of America’s largest banks. San Francisco is located halfway between Tokyo and London so it is also a center for world commerce.

This ship is shipping goods to other countries from San Francisco ports.

Fun Facts• San Francisco is the only city that still has cable cars running.• Jeans were first invented in San Francisco.• On April 18, 1906, San Francisco had one of the worst earthquakes in United

States history. It was 8.3 magnitude on the Richter Scale. It destroyed thousands of homes.

• The first Chinese immigrants in the United States came to San Francisco and started Chinatown.

• San Francisco is the twelfth most populated city in the United States.• San Francisco is one of the foggiest cities in the world.

Fog in San FranciscoCable cars in San Francisco

Sports Teams

San Francisco has two professional sports teams that are based in its city.

The San Francisco Giants are in the MLB and the play at AT&T Park. They are 92-63 and are in first place in the National League West.

The San Francisco 49ers are in the NFL and play at Candlestick Park. They are 2-1 and tied for second in the National Football Conference West

San Francisco Giants logo

San Francisco 49ers helmet

Sources• http://www.gest2010.org/index.php/en/san-francisco/a-

z.html• http://www.sanfrancisco.com/history/• http://www.city-data.com/us-cities/The-West/San-Francisco-

Economy.html• http://sf.funcheap.com/san-francisco-new-years-eve-fireworks

/• http://geography.about.com/od/unitedstatesofamerica/a/Alca

traz-Prison-Facts.htm