San Francisco, California (1805)

San Francisco [,sжnfrən'siskou] – Сан Франциско

Peninsula [pi'ninsjulə] – полуостров

San Francisco was founded in 1776 and its rapid development is closely connected with the gold rush of 1848 in California. By 1850 it was the largest city on the Pacific coast. The completion of the first transcontinental railroad coupled the city's size and its excellent harbour and made it the key location for U.S. commerce with the Pacific.

The romantic flair of its early history makes San Francisco one of the most popular of American cities. The city occupies the upper part of the rugged San Francisco Peninsula stretching over the rising slopes of numerous hills and extending into the waters of the Bay. Bounded on three sides by water, San Francisco is joined with the Marine Peninsula section on the north by the Golden Gate Bridge which contains the longest single span – 4,200 feet. The city is joined with the East Bay section by the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – a series of structures, 23,000 ft in length.

The Bay Area today is composed of several different areas, each with its own character. The East Bay is the most varied, with a mix of college students, large tracts occupied by middle-class residents, and most of the port facilities and heavy industry of the region. The San Jose-South Bay is upper middle class with new houses, fine yards and major regional shopping centres. Along the bay north of San Francisco there is Silicon Valley, so named because of its concentration of business engaged in chemical and electronics research, associated with production of computer components.

Three public art galleries offer exhibits and collections of national fame. Golden Gate Park contains an aquarium and a museum, the Morrison Planetarium and the California Academy of Sciences, the Japanese Tea Garden and many unusual attractions. There are also wonderful golf courses, a yacht harbour and several boating and swimming clubs in the city.

With the population of over 800,000 people, San Francisco is one of the largest industrial and cultural cities in America, and the major international airport and sea port on the western coast of the country. Just as New York is America's hinge with Europe, San Francisco is its hinge with Asia.