Carquinez Strait
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Carquinez Strait is a narrow tidal strait in northern California. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay. The strait connects Suisun Bay, which receives the waters of the combined rivers, with San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of the San Francisco Bay.
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[edit] Location
The straight forms part of the border between Solano (to the north) and Contra Costa (to the south) counties, and is approximately 15 mi (25 km) north of Oakland. The cities of Benicia and Vallejo lie on the north side of the strait, while Martinez, Port Costa and Crockett sit on the southern coast. The Napa River joins the strait, via the short Mare Island Strait, near its entrance into San Pablo Bay.
[edit] Name
The strait is named after the Karkin ("los Carquines" in Spanish), a lingustic division of the Ohlone Native Americans who resided on both sides of the Strait.
[edit] Installations
The California Maritime Academy is at the western end of the strait on the northern waterfront. A refinery is at the eastern end on the southern shore.
[edit] Bridges
The strait is crossed by two vehicle bridges, the Carquinez Bridge on Interstate 80 and the Benicia-Martinez Bridge on Interstate 680. Interstate 780 connects the two highways on the northern slope of the strait. A new span for the Benicia-Martinez bridge is under construction.
A rail bridge is just east of the Benicia-Martinez bridge, which is used by the Capitol Corridor trains. A rail ferry once crossed the straight near the location of the current rail bridge.
Some tall pylons carrying power lines cross the Strait as well.
[edit] Ship traffic
The channel is navigable and is used for commercial and military shipping. Deep water ship traffic bound for both the Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton traverse the straight.
[edit] Formation of delta
The narrow gap in the Coast Range that the strait goes through has led to the formation of the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta, an inverted river delta, behind it, which is a rare geological feature.
[edit] Trivia
- In 1985, an errant humpback whale swam up the Carquinez Strait as far as Rio Vista. Named Humphrey the whale by the media, he was successfully turned around and rescued by The Marine Mammal Center and other volunteers.
- The USNS Glomar Explorer (T-AG-193) was moored for many years at the eastern end of the straight.
