Oakland

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Industrial port in Alameda County in central California, USA, on the eastern, inland coast of San Francisco Bay; population (2000 est) 399,500. It is linked by the Bay Bridge (opened 1936) with San Francisco. Industries include food-processing, shipbuilding, and the manufacture of vehicles, textiles, and chemicals. The community was laid out in 1852 and became a terminus of the first Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Extensive port facilities handle much of the freight traffic of the bay area, and include a naval yard and naval air station. A lightship is among its 49 entries on the national register of historic places.

The stars stand for the two islands. Red recalls the struggle for independence. Yellow is said to represent the country's cocoa plantations. Effective date: 12 July 1975. >>