SAN FRANCISCO is situated on a peninsula between the
Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay and has a
population of around 750,000. The city was founded in
1776, when Yerba Buena, a settlement that included a
presidio and a mission, was established by the
Spanish.
During the Mexican War a United States
naval force under Commodore John D. Sloat captured the
settlement in 1846 and it was later re-named San
Francisco.
When gold was discovered in California In
1848 San Francisco had a population of less than 1000,
but after gold was discovered in the state the
population grew rapidly to about 25,000 with
prospectors and settlers arriving from all over the
world. In 1860 the Pony Express provided a link with
the eastern states and in 1869 the newly constructed
transcontinental railroad was opened,
On 18 April 1906 San Francisco, which
lies on the San Andreas fault, was jolted by a severe
earthquake and the city was almost completely destroyed
by it and the extensive fires that followed. The
impressive San Francisco to Oakland Bay Bridge was
opened in 1936 and the famous Golden Gate Bridge in
1937. (See the link below) During World War II, San
Francisco was the major supply point and port of
embarkation for the war in the Pacific. The United
Nations Charter was drafted at San Francisco in 1945.
In 1989 another severe earthquake caused much damage in
the Bay area.
The following is taken from the Columbia
Encyclopaedia, with acknowledgement: 'Tourism is the
economic mainstay, with service industries supporting
the large number of annual visitors. For most of its
history, San Francisco has been the financial center of
the West Coast, but since the early 1970s the city has
had to compete with Los Angeles for this
distinction.
Finance remains one of the most important
activities; the city is still headquarters to two of
the country's largest commercial banks as well as a
Federal Reserve bank and the Pacific Stock Exchange.
More than 600 insurance companies are based there.
Although manufacturing in San Francisco has declined,
the clothing and food-processing industries remain
important.
San Francisco and the Bay Area form one
of the largest ports on the West Coast of America.' The
picture above shows the financial district of San
Francisco with the bridge to Oakland on the right.
(Photograph taken from Twin Peaks)
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