FAQ's

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How did the San Francisco Estuary form? 20,00 years ago much of the world's water was on land in the form of ice and snow, as a result the ocean water levels dropped 400 feet and the coast was 20 miles east of where it currently is located. This revealed a chain of river valleys within the Coast Ridge. As the snow and ice began to melt the ocean levels began to rise, 10,000 years ago water enter the Coast Ridge and began to rise at a quick rate of about an inch per year. Then as the water began to slow its increase, sentiment began to build up. For the last 6,000 years, this sentiment build up has caused a build up of mud flats and marshes.

2. How large is the San Francisco Estuary? The Bay covers somewhere between 400 and 1,600 square miles, depending on which sub-bays (such as San Pablo Bay), estuaries, wetlands, marshes, mudflats, and so on are included in the measurement.



3. Are there any organizations out there that protect and monitor the bay?

Yes, quite a few.

[|__Save The Bay__]

[|__The Bay Institute__]

[|__Baykeeper and Deltakeeper (Waterkeepers)__]

[|__Estuarine Research Federation__]

[|__San Francisco Estuary Institute__]

[|__San Francisco Estuary Spartina Project__]

4. How does the salinity of the San Francisco Estuary change? The salt content of the estuary is controlled by the amount of freshwater that is deposited in the bay from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. During years when the rivers have high discharge the salinity of the bay decreases and during years when the river flow was less then average the salinity increased.



5. Does the Estuary help the people of San Francisco?

Yes, very much so! The Estuary provides 22 million Californians with drinking water, irrigates 4.5 million acres of farmland, and supports local industries such as commercial and sport fishing.

6. What can I do to help? Instead of using pesticides, put up a bat, bird, or owl box, but only where no poisons are being used. Instead of tossing old or unused meds in the garbage or flushing them down the drain, they can end up in the Estuary and its watersheds. Drop them off at your pharmacy the next time you are picking up a prescription. Install a rainwater cistern to collect rainwater for use during the next drought Create a rainwater garden to slow runoff and filter pollutants Drive less! However, if you own a car, take your car to the car wash instead of washing suds into the street, the storm drain -- and the Estuary. If you must wash at home, use just a tiny amount of biodegradable soap or hot water alone, and make sure the rinse flows into landscaping or lawn, not the street Join your local watershed group

7. How many endangered species live in the San Francisco Estuary?

18 species of fish and wildlife on the government's rare, threatened or endangered list, including the brown pelican, the salt marsh harvest mouse, the California freshwater shrimp, and the delta smelt live in the San Francisco estuary.

8. How do exotic species get to the San Francisco estuary and was affect do they have? Exotic Species often are introduced from the hulls of international shipping vessels. The organism can attach itself to the bottom of the boat and when the ship reaches the San Francisco Bay release and dominate the new environment. Exotic species thrive because they usually do not have natural predators hence their populations normally explode. This puts a major strain on native species because of the increased competition for food and other resources.

9. What are the benifits that come with a estuary? Estuaries provide vital habitat for organism that are of commercial, recreational, and cutural value. Some organisms only live in estuaries, for example oysters or the zebra mussle. Other groups of organisms only spend part of their lives in the estuary, such as horseshoe crabs. Without estuaries these organisms would no longer exist, which would be a major loss.

10. How do you measure an Estuary? You can mesaure an estuary based on surface area, shore line, or volume.

11. What is the largest Estuary in North America? Based on surface area it is the Gulf of St. Lawerance at about 60,000 square miles. Based on shoreline it would be the Cheasapeake with a shoreline of 11,684 miles.