April 14, 2009

San Pablo Bay


click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

San Francisco Bay covers a large area, so people generally think of it in three parts -- the South Bay, the "Central Bay" (surrounded by the three bridges), and San Pablo Bay in the north.

Top photo is from China Camp, just over the hill from San Rafael.
Civilization is close, but it usually seems a million miles away...



click photo for full-size image
photo by Donald Kinney

This is a shot from Vallejo looking west across San Pablo Bay towards Mt. Tamalpais.   In addition to the Sacramento Delta water from the east, San Pablo Bay also receives a bit of water from the Petaluma Creek, and the Sonoma River which drains the Napa Valley.

San Pablo Bay isn't very deep -- in fact it's more like a pond than a bay.   I'd be very careful about parasites in fish that came out of San Pablo Bay, and I might even want to keep my eye on mercury and cyanide levels too.   Bon appetit...

Salt water intrusion into San Pablo Bay has increased over the past several decades to the point where the harvest of Bay Shrimp at China Camp has been reduced substantially.   More and more of the fresh water releases from the Sacramento Delta have been diverted for agricultural use in the Central Valley, slowing down the "flushing out" of San Pablo Bay.





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Your comments are invited and welcome.

4 comments:

photowannabe said...

Bon Appetit indeed. Its a shame how the natural flow of water has been diverted and how the fish life has been damaged. Important essay Don.

Louise said...

Civilization DOES seem a million miles away. What a wonderful place to go.

Deborah Godin said...

I can feel/hear the wind going past my ears! (great to have the map, too)

Müge Tekil said...

Dear Donald,

I like your notes as much as your photos. Funny comment about the fish that come out of San Pablo Bay! :-)

Best regards,

 
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