San Francisco Peninsula

The San Francisco peninsula separates the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. On its northern tip is the city of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge leading over to the northern shores. Most of the peninsula is covered by San Mateo county.

A number of major thoroughfares run North-South: El Camino Real and Highway 101 on the east side along the bay, Interstate 280 down the center, and Highway 1 on the west along the Pacific. The east side of the peninsula is largely urban, forming a commuter area for San Francisco, San Jose to the south, Silicon Valley, Palo Alto and Stanford University.

Three bridges, the Dumbarton Bridge, the San Mateo bridge, and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge cross San Francisco Bay from the peninsula.

Along the center line of the Peninsula is the Santa Cruz Mountains, formed by the action of plate tectonics along the San Andreas fault. In the middle of the Peninsula along the fault is the Crystal Springs reservoir, which inspired the James Bond movie, A View to a Kill.