San Francisco

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Chief Pacific port in California, USA, on the tip of a peninsula in San Francisco Bay; population (2000) 776,700. The entrance channel from the Pacific to San Francisco Bay was named the Golden Gate in 1846; its strait was crossed in 1937 by the world's second-longest single-span bridge, 1,280 m/4,200 ft in length. Manufactured goods include textiles, machinery and metalware, electrical equipment, petroleum products, and pharmaceuticals. San Francisco is also a financial, trade, corporate, and diversified service centre. Tourism is a major industry. A Spanish fort (the Presidio) and the San Francisco de Asis Mission were established here in 1776. San Francisco has the largest Chinese community outside Asia.

Features
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area includes many historical landmarks. Cable cars were developed in 1872 to cope with the city's 43 hills. Residential areas have many wooden 19th-century houses, and 19th-century industrial brick buildings have been renovated at Ghirardelli Square. The financial district has modern buildings, including the Transamerica Pyramid (1972). In Golden Gate Park, as well as the Japanese Tea Garden, there are several museums: the Asian Art Museum, regarded as the best collection of Asian art in the USA; the M H de Young Memorial Museum, housing an important collection of US art; and the California Academy of Sciences. The former prison of Alcatraz Island lies in the bay and is a major tourist attraction.

History
Francis Drake's ship, the Golden Hind, stopped in the bay in 1578 on its voyage round the world. In 1776 the Mission San Francisco de Asís was founded, and the village of Yerba Buena grew up beside it. Yerba Buena remained small until the 1830s when it became a trading post, its inhabitants mainly occupied in the beef, hide, and tallow trade. The town was seized by the US army during the Mexican War of 1846, and renamed San Francisco in 1847. It was incorporated in 1850. The 1849 Gold Rush led to a boom, and by 1860 the population was 56,000. In the later 19th century the city became the financial centre of the West; the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange, and the headquarters of the 12th Federal Reserve and Bank of America are sited here. The city is on the San Andreas fault, and was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake (equivalent to 8.3 on the Richter scale) and subsequent three-day fire in 1906. It was the main port for the war in the Pacific during World War II, when it became an important shipbuilding centre. The United Nations Charter (1945) and the peace treaty with Japan (1951) were signed here. In the 1960s the Haight-Ashbury area became the centre of hippie alternative culture. Another earthquake (6.9 on the Richter scale) rocked the city in 1989.

The emblem recalls the flag of Turkey, a long-standing ally. The points of the star represent the eight Turkic tribes of Azerbaijan. Effective date: 5 February 1991. >>