San Francisco Bay

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/san-francisco-bay

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How big is the San Francisco Bay?Approximately 400 square miles (1,036 square kilometers)
2. What is the location?Northern California, United States
3. What is the drainage basin?Receives water from roughly 40% of California's land area
4. Why is the Golden Gate important?The Golden Gate is a narrow strait that connects the bay to the Pacific Ocean and controls how water moves in and out.
5. How do rivers affect the bay?Freshwater from the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers flows into the bay, mixing with salty ocean water and changing the water’s salinity.

Tidal Estuary: A coastal body of brackish water where freshwater rivers meet saltwater oceans, experiencing significant tidal fluctuations.
Ramsar Wetland: A wetland designated under the Ramsar Convention for its international ecological significance and conservation value.
Hydrology: The study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets.
Geomorphology: The study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features created by physical, chemical, or biological processes on the planet's surface.