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San Francisco

San Francisco
Administration
Full nameSan Francisco
Settlement typeCity and county
MottoOro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra
(Spanish for "Gold in Peace, Iron in War")
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
FoundedJune 29, 1776
IncorporatedApril 16, 1850
Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu
Named forSaint Francis of Assisi
Government
TypeMayor-Council
MayorEdwin M. Lee
Board of SupervisorsSupervisors
Eric Mar
Mark Farrell
David Chiu
Carmen Chu
Ross Mirkarimi
Jane Kim
Sean Elsbernd
Scott Wiener
David Campos
Malia Cohen
John Avalos
State AssemblyFiona Ma (D)
Tom Ammiano (D)
State SenateMark Leno (D)
Leland Yee (D)
U.S. HouseNancy Pelosi (D)
Jackie Speier (D)
Geography
Total Area231.89 sq mi (600.6 km2)
Land Area46.87 sq mi (121.4 km2)
Water Area185.02 sq mi (479.2 km2)
Metro Area3524.4 sq mi (9128.2 km2)
Elevation52 ft (15.8 m)
Highest Elevation925 ft (281.9 m)
Demography
Total Population805235 (2010)
Density (pop.)6631.2/km2 (17179.2/sq mi)
Urban (pop.)3273190
Metro (pop.)4335391
DemonymSan Franciscan
Other information
Time zonePacific Standard Time (UTC-8)
- Summer (DST)Pacific Daylight Time (UTC-7)
ZIP Code94101 � 94112, 94114 � 94147, 94150 � 94170, 94172, 94175, 94177
Area code415

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San Francisco c-enˌsæn_frənˈsɪskoʊ, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland. The only consolidated city-county in California, it encompasses a land area of about 46.9 sqmi (121.5 km2) on the northern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, giving it a density of about 17,179 people per square mile (6,632 people per km2). It is the most densely settled large city (population greater than 200,000) in the state of California and the second-most densely populated large city in the United States after New York City. San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 13th most populous city in the United States, with a population of 805,235 as of the 2010 Census.

In 1776, colonists from Spain established a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi on the site. The California Gold Rush of 1849 propelled the city into a period of rapid growth, increasing the population in one year from 1,000 to 25,000, and thus transforming it into the largest city on the West Coast at the time. After three-quarters of the city was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt, hosting the Panama-Pacific International Exposition nine years later. During World War II, San Francisco was the port of embarkation for service members shipping out to the Pacific Theater. After the war, the confluence of returning servicemen, massive immigration, liberalizing attitudes, and other factors led to the Summer of Love and the gay rights movement, cementing San Francisco as a center of liberal activism in the United States.

Today, San Francisco is one of the top tourist destinations in the world, ranking 33rd out of the 100 most visited cities worldwide, and is renowned for its chilly summer fog, steep rolling hills, eclectic mix of architecture, and its famous landmarks, including the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, and Chinatown. The city is also a principal banking and finance center, and the home to more than 30 international financial institutions, helping to make San Francisco rank eighteenth in the world's top producing cities, ninth in the United States, and thirteenth place in the top twenty global financial centers.


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