San Francisco Bay Area or as it is called in San Francisco – only the Bay Area is a region located around San Francisco. Many people live there, about 7.753 million to be more precise. It is located in Northern California.
The major cities of San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland are located there along with many smaller cities and areas.
The San Francisco Bay Area consists of nine counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marine, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. There are many nature parks in the area. It is easy to get there by plane, train, commuter train and car over motorways, bridges, tunnels and other roads.
It is the second largest area in California, the largest being Greater Los Angeles. The area is also the fifth largest in the United States and the 43rd largest urban area in the world.
Alameda and Contra Costa are located on the east side and are called the East Bay. East Bay is then divided into two regions: the Inner and the Outer East Bay. The Inner East Bay is more densely populated, with older buildings and a more ethnically diverse population. The headquarters of Pixar Animation Studios are located there.
The Outer East Bay is divided into four areas: Lamorinda, Central Contra Costa County, East Contra Costa County and Tri-Valley. Most white people live here, but the Spanish-speakers and Filipinos have begun to build on their population over the past 30 years. The infrastructure in The outer East Bay was built after the Second World War.
North of the Golden Gate Bridge is the region best known as North Bay. It’s Marin County, Sonoma County, Napa County extending east into Solano County.
The easternmost town in North Bay is Fairfield, which is part of Solano County.
Marine County is the richest county in the state. The largest city in the North Bay is Santa Rosa located in Sonoma County. North Bay is relatively undeveloped compared to the rest of the Bay Area. There are no commuter trains there. Due to the fact that there are not that many people living in North Bay, there has been no investment in means of transport in the first place. It is also completely separate from the rest of the Bay Area as only the Golden Gate Bridge leads to San Francisco. Richmond-San Rafael and Carquinez Bridges lead to Richmond, and the Benicia-Martinez Bridge leads to Martinez.
In the South Bay Area is Silicon Valley, or Santa Clara Valley. There is the city of San Jose and the surrounding municipalities; Santa Clara, Milpitas, Cupertino, Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Some well-known technology companies headquartered in South Bay are Hewlett-Packard, Apple, Google, eBay, Facebook and Yahoo !.
The area from San Francisco to Silicon Valley is called The Peninsula. The area is very varied.
The area has grown over the past 40 years and more middle- and upper-class families have settled there over the years. Many with a foreign background have settled there, which increases the diversity in the area.
San Francisco is surrounded by water from three directions; north, east and west. About 870,000 people live in San Francisco and it is the second most densely populated city in North America after New York City.