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The San Francisco Bay Area, referred to locally as the '''Bay Area''', is a geographically diverse Metropolitan Area that surrounds San Francisco Bay in Northern California . Home to almost eight million people, it is composed of cities, towns, villages, military bases, airports, and associated regional, state, and national parks sprawled over nine Counties and connected by a massive network of roads, Highways , Railroads , and Commuter Rail . The Bay Area is atypical in that its population is distributed across several regional urban and suburban centers. San Francisco was until recently the largest City in the region (it was surpassed by San Jose in the 1990 census) and remains the traditional and cultural center. The metropolitan area comprising the city of San Francisco together with Oakland and San Jose is the Fifth-largest Metropolitan Area In The United States . SUBREGIONS San Francisco Main article: San Francisco, California is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate strait, the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. It connects San Francisco with Marin County .]] The City and County of San Francisco is generally placed in a category by itself geographically, mentally, and culturally. It is separated by water from the north, west and east, and by a county line from its neighbor cities to the South. San Francisco serves as the cultural and financial center of the region, and once was the population and economic center. It remains the Bay Area's center of attraction, and it is the heart of its nightlife. East Bay Main article: East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) The eastern side of the bay, dominated by the city of Oakland but also including Alameda , Berkeley , Fremont , Livermore , Hayward and several small cities, is known locally as the East Bay . The East Bay is split into two regions, the inner East Bay, which sits on the Bay coastline, and the outer East Bay, consisting of inland valleys separated from the inner East Bay by hills and mountains.
South Bay Main article: South Bay (San Jose, California) The communities along the southern edge of the Bay are known as the South Bay , Santa Clara Valley , and Silicon Valley , although some Peninsula and East Bay towns are sometimes included in the latter. It includes the city of San Jose , and its smaller neighbors including Gilroy and the high-tech hubs of Santa Clara , Cupertino , Palo Alto and Sunnyvale , as well as many other suburbs. (downtown is at far left) and other parts of Silicon Valley ]] Peninsula Main article: San Francisco Peninsula The area between the South Bay and the City and County of San Francisco is known as the '' San Francisco Peninsula '', locally just as ''The Peninsula''. This area consists of a series of small cities and suburban communities along the Bay such as Palo Alto and Stanford University , Mountain View , Daly City , San Mateo , and Foster City , as well as various towns along the Pacific coast, such as Pacifica and Half Moon Bay . North Bay Main article: North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area) .]] The region north of the Golden Gate Bridge is known locally as the North Bay . This area consists of Marin County and extends northward into Sonoma and Napa Counties and eastward to Solano County . With some exceptions, this region is quite affluent, and is generally the least urbanized part of the Bay Area, with many areas of undeveloped park and farmland. It is the only section of the Bay Area that is not served by a commuter rail transit service, though Sonoma-Marin service has entered the planning phase. The lack of transportation services is mainly because the lack of population mass in the North Bay, and the fact that it is separated completely from the rest of the Bay Area by water, the only access points being the Golden Gate Bridge leading to San Francisco , the Richmond-San Rafael and Carquinez Bridges leading to Richmond , and the Benicia Bridge leading to Concord . Santa Cruz :''Main article: Santa Cruz, California Most residents do not consider Santa Cruz to be part of the San Francisco Bay Area; however, there is no formal definition of "San Francisco Bay Area" (such as by the US Census Bureau ), so the term is somewhat flexible. Some tourist guide books (''Lonely Planet'') group Santa Cruz in the San Francisco Bay Area section, while others (''Eyewitness Travel Guides'') do not. More importantly, residents of the Santa Cruz Mountains (Boulder Creek, Brookdale, Ben Lomond, Felton, Scotts Valley) do not usually consider themselves to be residents of the Bay Area, rather just the Santa Cruz Mountains. Santa Cruz is most truly considered a part of the Monterey Bay since the city lies on the North end of the Monterey Bay. The city is also sometimes regarded as the northernmost point of the California Central Coast , which extends along the state's coastline to Santa Barbara . AFFLUENCE The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the wealthiest regions in the United States. According to the United States Census Bureau , of the 280 defined Metropolitan Areas , the San Francisco Bay Area has the Highest Median Household Income In The Nation with $62,024. Six of the top ten California places with the highest per capita income are in the San Francisco Bay Area ( Belvedere , Atherton , Woodside , Portola Valley , Diablo ). Of the 100 Highest Income Counties By Per Capita Income In The United States , six are in the San Francisco Bay Area ( Marin , San Mateo , San Francisco , Santa Clara , Contra Costa , Alameda ). According to Forbes Magazine, published in 2005, 12 of the top 50 Most Expensive Zip Codes are in the Bay Area ( Atherton , Ross , Diablo , Tiburon , Los Altos , Nicasio , Portola Valley , Los Altos , Los Gatos , San Francisco ). WEATHER Because the hills, mountains, and large bodies of water produce such vast geographic diversity within this region, the Bay Area offers a significant variety of Microclimate s. The areas near the Pacific Ocean are generally characterized by relatively small temperature variations during the year, with cool foggy summers and mild rainy winters. Inland areas, especially those separated from the ocean by hills or mountains, have hotter summers and colder overnight temperatures during the winter. Most of the major residential areas never experience snow (the last noticeable snowfall at the sea level regions occurred on February 5 , 1976 ), while the highest of the surrounding peaks are dusted with snow half a dozen times each winter (including Mount St. Helena, Mount Hamilton, Mount Diablo, Mount Tamalpais). The coast north of San Francisco, where year-round cool, moist conditions enable Redwood s to grow, has almost nothing in common with Livermore, just 40 miles inland across the bay, which has desert-like precipitation and heat. At the south end of the Bay, San Jose averages fewer than 15 inches of rain annually, while Napa at the north end of the Bay averages over 30. TRANSPORTATION Main article: Transportation In The San Francisco Bay Area The Bay Area is served by many Public Transportation systems, including three international Airport s ( SFO , OAK , SJC ), six overlapping Bus transit agencies, four Rapid Transit and Regional Rail systems including BART , and multiple public ferry services. The Freeway and Highway system is very extensive; however, many freeways are heavily Congested during Rush Hour , especially the trans-bay bridges. HIGHER EDUCATION The region is home to several Universities and Seminaries , most notably the University Of California, Berkeley and Stanford University . Most studies rank the San Francisco Bay Area population at or near the top in the Nation for overall education level. (The other two candidates would be Greater Boston and Washington D.C. ) RELIGIOUS LIFE The San Francisco Bay Area has a very diverse religious life with thousands of Church es, Mosque s, Temple s, and religious centers. The Bay Area is home to Buddhist , Sikh , Christian , Jewish , Hindu , Shiite-Muslim , Sunni-Muslim , and numerous other religious communities. SPORTS ; NCAA Division I College Sports
REGIONAL COUNTIES, CITIES AND SUBURBS The following lists are based on the ten-county definition of the Bay Area. Cities in bold serve as county seat. Those places listed in ''italics'' would be excluded by the nine-county definition that excludes Santa Cruz County. Counties Cities with more than 200,000 inhabitants
Cities with 100,000 to 200,000 inhabitants Municipalities and suburbs with 10,000 to 100,000 inhabitants Municipalities and suburbs with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants SEE ALSO
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