San Franciso

SAN FRANCISCO ( Frisco)


1) General Information

• San Francisco is a city in California which lies on a spit between the Pacific and the San Francisco Bay. Because of this location S.F. is one of the great natural harbors of the world and gateway to the Orient for trade and travel.
• The 42 hills are the distinctive marks of the city ( popular: the ‘Twin Peaks’).
• Area: 125 km2
• Inhabitants: 750,000 (whole metropolis at the bay with 9 districts: over 6 million)
• 1776: the Spanish found the first settlement on the peninsula Yerba Buena; the Franciscan friars establish a mission for Saint Francis of Assisi
• 1847: the Pueblo of Yerba Buena obtains the name ‘San Francisco’
• 1848: California becomes part of the USA
• 1906 (April 18th): serious earthquake measuring 8.2 on the Richter scale  28,000 buildings in 500 blocks had been destroyed (mainly by the fires caused by exploding gas main...