Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 17, 2006



San Francisco, California is the fourth-largest city in California and the fourteenth-largest in the United States, with a 2005 population of 739,426. It is located on the tip of the San Francisco Peninsula and has traditionally been the focal point of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco is the second most densely populated major city in the United States. In 1776, the Spanish colonized the place that was to become San Francisco, establishing a fort at the Golden Gate and a mission named for Francis of Assisi. With the advent of the California Gold Rush in 1848, the city entered a period of rapid growth. After being devastated by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, San Francisco was quickly rebuilt and is today one of the most recognizable cities in the world. San Francisco is renowned for its months-long episodes of fog, steep rolling hills, the eclectic mix of Victorian and modern architecture, and its peninsular location surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay. Famous hallmarks and landmarks include the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island, the cable cars, the Transamerica Pyramid, and Chinatown. (more...)

Recently featured: Katyn massacre – J. R. R. Tolkien – Eagle Scout