he San Francisco Bay Area, latest count in 2006). People are
popularly known as the 'Bay scattered over a number of
Area' to local residents, suburban and urban centers,
is a diverse and thriving hence, the general area name. Its
metropolitan region that generic name is derived from the
encompasses San Francisco Bay in various regional natures of the
the northern part of California. area, with no specific reference
San Francisco, North Bay, East to a city.
Bay, South Bay, Peninsula and
Santa Cruz make up the Bay Area Studies place the population of
regions. They are divided into San Francisco Bay Area among the
nine counties: San Francisco, San best in the country for overall
Benito, San Mateo, Santa Clara, education placement, competing
Santa Cruz, Alameda, Napa, Solano with Washington D.C. and Boston.
and Sonoma. East Bay is known for being the
home of famous seminaries and
Although San Francisco City is universities, namely Berkeley or
identified as the cultural and the University of California and
traditional center of the Bay Stanford University.
Area, it is not the largest or
most populated city within the Weather is generally agreeable
area. Historically, the Bay Area but unpredictable, as bodies of
traces its roots from Spanish water fence in the land area.
explorers who first set foot in Spring casts mild and cloudless
the region and founded a Catholic days, summer is cool and
church in 1776. overcast, and fall weather is
warm, hot and sunny, with mild
Bay Area is distributed over a and clear nights, while winter
population of nearly seven brings in the most humid rainy
million residents (as of the days, alternating with clear and
sunny skies. areas that have the most income
per capita (Belvedere, Diablo,
The diverse geography is broken Atherton, Woodside and Portal
up into prime residential and Valley) are all in the Bay Area.
industrial spaces, covering The popular Alameda, Contra
villages, towns and cities, parks Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San
in the national, state and Mateo and Santa Clara counties in
regional levels, as well as Bay Area are also part of the top
airports and military bases. All 100 income per capita counties in
these are connected by a modern the States. As a result, the Bay
and efficient transport system Area real estate appreciated to
composed mostly of trains the level of the 'most expensive
(commuter rail and railroads), zip code' league. In 2005, Forbes
highways and roads. Magazine listed Atherton, Diablo,
Ross, Nicasio, Los Altos,
Considered as one of the most Tiburon, Los Gatos, Portal Valley
affluent regions in America, the and San Francisco as one of the
San Francisco Bay Area boasts top 50 most expensive places to
having the most median income per live in.
household, across the nation. Six
out of the 10 best Californian
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