San Francisco
San Francisco is a city in California and is generally considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is well known for its excellent public transit systems, including MUNI subway and streetcars, BART trains to suburbs, and the famous San Francisco cable cars. The city has survived two extremely damaging earthquakes, one in 1906 and 1989. The latter quake is the reason that no freeway through the city exists. Indeed, it is impossible to access the Golden Gate Bridge without driving on city streets.
The downtown area of the city is laid out on two grids, with a 45 degree offset between them. Market Street separates the two grids. Many tourists come to visit the Civic Center, Embarcadero, and Union Square areas, all of which are north of Market.
Its mayor, Gavin Newsom ordered the city clerk to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the practice being explicitly illegal under California law. The marriages were nullified by the courts shortly thereafter, as the mayor and clerk were violating California state law.
Famous San Francisco landmarks include the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Wharf, and Alcatraz Island.
San Francisco is part of the San Francisco Bay Area, which includes Oakland, San Jose, Berkeley, and other smaller towns like Cupertino, Palo Alto, Mountain View, San Mateo, Saratoga, and Menlo Park. The city is home to several large companies, including Gap, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Cnet. San Francisco has been overtaken in population and economic significance by San Jose and the rest of Silicon Valley.[Citation Needed]
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