Angel Island

Angel Island is an island in the Bay of San Francisco. Originally home to a military installation, the island now offers picturesque views of the San Francisco skyline, the Marin County Headlands and Mount Tamalpais. The entire island is part of Angel Island State Park, administered by California State Parks. The island, the California Historical Landmark, has been used for a variety of purposes, including military forts, the U.S. Public Health Service Quarantine Station, and the U.S. Immigration and Detention Office. Angel Island Immigration Station, on the northeast corner of the island, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark, was where officials detained, inspected and examined approximately one million immigrants, mainly from Asia. Under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, the first U.S. law to restrict a group of immigrants based on their race, nationality, and class, all arriving Chinese immigrants were to be examined by immigration or customs agents.

 

Ride a ferry from San Francisco or Tiburon to experience one of the most beautiful and historic islands in the San Francisco Bay — Angel Island State Park. This hidden gem is a great destination for fun, adventure, and American history. Experience an expansive 360-degree view of the Bay Area — San Francisco skyline, Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, Richmond Bridge, Tiburon, San Francisco, and the Bay. Ride on one of their open-air trams or learn about the fascinating history of the island, such as the buildings of the Civil War and the Immigration Station, from one of our trained Segway tour guides. Angel Island Café offers delicious food made to order, including a house specialty sandwich: the Way Down South, a barbecue pork sandwich made with all-natural Snake River pork shoulder and our secret sauce — a sandwich on its own is worth a ferry ride. # 11 ranked best restaurants to eat in Tiburon.

 

History

Until about ten thousand years ago, Angel Island had been linked to the mainland; it had been cut off by the rise in sea levels due to the end of the last ice age. Approximately two thousand years ago, the island was a fishing and hunting site for Miwok Coast Native Americans. Similar evidence of Native American settlement is found on the nearby mainland of the Tiburon Peninsula on the Ring Mountain. In 1775, the first European entry into the Bay of San Francisco was made by the Spanish naval vessel San Carlos under the command of Juan de Ayala. Ayala anchored off Angel Island and gave it its modern name (Isla de los Ángeles); the bay where it was anchored is now known as Ayala Cove.

 

Until about ten thousand years ago, Angel Island had been linked to the mainland; it had been cut off by the rise in sea levels due to the end of the last ice age. Approximately two thousand years ago, the island was a fishing and hunting site for Miwok Coast Native Americans. Similar evidence of Native American settlement is found on the nearby mainland of the Tiburon Peninsula on the Ring Mountain. In 1775, the first European entry into the Bay of San Francisco was made by the Spanish naval vessel San Carlos under the command of Juan de Ayala. Ayala anchored off Angel Island and gave it its modern name (Isla de los Ángeles); the bay where it was anchored is now known as Ayala Cove.

 

Angel Island is the second largest island in the San Francisco Bay area (Alameda is the largest). On a clear day, Sonoma and Napa can be seen from the north side of the island; San José can be seen from the south side of the island. The highest point on the island, almost exactly at its center, is Mount Caroline Livermore, more commonly known as Mt Livermore, at a height of 788 feet (240 m). The island is almost entirely in the town of Tiburon, in the county of Marin, although there is a small sliver (0.7%) at the eastern end of the island (Fort McDowell) which extends into the territory of the City and County of San Francisco. The island is separated from the mainland of Marin County by the Raccoon Strait, with a depth of about 90 feet.