Portal:San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area PortalThe San Francisco Bay Area (referred to locally as the Bay Area) is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses the major cities and metropolitan areas of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland, along with smaller urban and rural areas. The Bay Area's nine counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. Home to approximately 7.68 million people, the nine-county Bay Area contains many cities, towns, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks, connected by a network of roads, highways, railroads, bridges, tunnels, and commuter rail. The combined statistical area of the region is the second-largest in California (after the Greater Los Angeles area), the fifth-largest in the United States, and the 43rd-largest urban area in the world with 8.80 million people. The Bay Area has the second-most Fortune 500 companies in the United States, after the New York metropolitan area, and is known for its natural beauty, liberal politics, entrepreneurship, and diversity. The area ranks second in highest density of college graduates, after the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and performs above the state median household income in the 2010 census; it includes the five highest California counties by per capita income and two of the top 25 wealthiest counties in the United States. Based on a 2013 population report from the California Department of Finance, the Bay Area is the only region in California where the rate of people migrating in from other areas in the United States is greater than the rate of those leaving the region, led by Alameda and Contra Costa counties. (more...) Selected article
San Francisco has 436 high-rises, 45 of which are taller than 400 feet (122 m). The tallest is the Transamerica Pyramid, which rises 853 ft (260 m) and as of January 2014[update] is the 35th-tallest building in the United States. The city's second tallest building is 555 California Street, formerly known as Bank of America Center.
San Francisco has 22 skyscrapers that rise at least 492 feet (150 m). Its skyline is ranked (based upon existing and under construction buildings over 492 feet (150 m) tall) second in the Pacific coast region (after Los Angeles) and sixth in the United States, after New York City, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Los Angeles. (more...) Selected biography
Ronald Paul "Ron" Fedkiw (/ˈfɛdkoʊ/; born February 27, 1968) is a full professor in the Stanford University department of computer science and a leading researcher in the field of computer graphics, focusing on topics relating to physically based simulation of natural phenomena and level sets. His techniques have been employed in over twenty motion pictures. He has earned recognition at the 80th Academy Awards as well as from the National Academy for Science.
His Oscar was awarded for developing techniques that enabled many technically sophisticated adaptations including the visual effects in 21st century movies in the Star Wars, Harry Potter, Terminator, and Pirates of the Caribbean franchises. Fedkiw has designed a platform that has been used to create many of the movie world's most advanced special effects since it was first used on the T-X character in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Although he has won an Oscar for his work, he does not design the visual effects that use his technique. Instead, he has developed a system that other award-winning technicians and engineers have used to create visual effects for some of the world's most expensive and highest-grossing movies. (more...) Selected city
Rodeo /roʊˈdeɪ.oʊ/ is a census-designated place (CDP) located in Contra Costa County, California on the shore of San Pablo Bay. The population was 8,679 at the 2010 census. The town is named for the livestock roundups common in the late 19th century. Cattle from the surrounding hills were regularly driven down through the old town to a loading dock on the shoreline of San Pablo Bay for shipment to slaughterhouses, a practice which continued through the early 20th century. The town of Rodeo is served by the Interstate 80 freeway and State Route 4. The Southern Pacific Railroad main line passes through Rodeo. Rodeo has not been a stop on the railroad since the 1950s. (more...)
Selected imageMap of the San Francisco Bay Trail
image credit: Lauraat
The Bay Area by year1943
• The Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base (pictured, right), near Fairfield, in Solano County, is officially activated Selected historical imageWine label, New Almaden vineyard image credit: California Historical Society
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Selected periodic eventThe San Jose Holiday Parade is held annually in December in San Jose, and has been described as one of the "Top 25 Parades in America". Celebrities and famous locals appear as Grand Marshals and numerous bands from across America are invited to participate in the parade. It began in 1981. (19th century parade in San Jose pictured) Quote
Selected multimedia fileBay Area regions, geographic features and protected areasGeographic features
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Things you can do*Write an article on a Bay Area-related subject Selected panoramaMarin Headlands, with Rodeo Beach image credit: Brocken Inaglory
San Francisco Bay Area categoriesBay Area | San Francisco Bay | San Francisco | San Jose | Oakland | Cities | Census-designated places | Historic Places | National Landmarks | Counties: Alameda | Contra Costa | Marin | Napa | San Mateo | Santa Clara | Solano | Sonoma
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