Golden Gate

The Golden Gate ( German to golden gate ) is a strait that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Bay of San Francisco. It is about eight kilometers long and between 1.6 and three kilometers wide. It got its name in the time of the Gold Rush in 1848 and is thus a reference to the nickname of the state of California Golden State. At this time, thousands of prospectors and fortune hunters with ships through the Straits and anchored in the harbor of San Francisco. Since the Gold Rush promised wealth and riches, the term was quickly adopted by the public and made ​​the concept of access to happiness.

Until the Gold Rush, the Spaniards called the passage " Boca del Puerto de San Francisco " ( " mouth of the Port of San Francisco ").

The flow has been flushed from the deep strong tides and the rivers Sacramento and San Joaquin millennia. The flow changes its direction with the tide, and its speed is up to 10 km / h at low tide, or 8 km / h at high tide.

Since 1937, the strait is spanned by the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Also famous is the eponymous Golden Gate Park.