SPACEPHOTOS

San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA April 1998 The conurbation that almost encircles San Francisco Bay (south) and San Pablo Bay (north) clearly contrasts with the rugged, vegetated hills and low mountains around the bays. Several highways (thin, light-colored lines) can be traced through the lower elevations of the vegetated hills east of Berkeley, Oakland, and Hayward along the east side of San Francisco Bay. These highways serve Concord, Walnut Creek, and other cities in the valley corridor east of the hills. Four major bridges (Golden Gate, San Francisco-Oakland Bay, San Mateo, and Dumbarton) that connect the various cities around the bay area are visible. Treasure Island, Golden Gate Park, and salt ponds northeast of San Jose are also visible. There appears to be more sediment (light color) in San Pablo Bay than in San Francisco Bay. Notice that sediment in San Francisco Bay is concentrated along the shoreline, especially south of Oakland. Montara Mountain is the very dark, heavily forested region south of San Francisco and a small segment of the San Andreas Fault is visible along the eastern margin of the mountain