| A stretch of water, miles wide and some 40 miles long, surrounded by the urban Bay Area of which San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Silicon Valley, and many other well-known places are a part. The island of Alcatraz is in the bay.
Several bridges cross the Bay. The most impressive in my eyes is the Bay Bridge, which is actually two, connecting San Francisco with Oakland via an island called Treasure Island. Longer, but less spectacular, are Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and San Mateo Bridge. Comparatively short, but the most picturesque because it's a very high suspension bridge in one piece, is Golden Gate Bridge, which spans the opening to the Pacific. | 
