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San Francisco Facts & Worksheets

San Francisco is a city located in Northern California. It is the 13th most populous city in the US.

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San Francisco is a city located in Northern California. It is the 13th most populous city in the US. It is also called by its initials SF as well as San Fran, Frisco, The City by the Bay, The Golden City, and Fog City.

See the fact file below for more information on San Francisco or alternatively, you can download our 26-page San Francisco worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Introduction

  • San Francisco’s official name is the City and County of San Francisco.
  • It is a major US city and port on the West Coast of the United States in the northern region of California, lying between San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.
  • San Francisco is extremely hilly. It is a city set on more than 50 hills
  • San Francisco still has cable cars on three routes through the city.  

Geography

  • Size: 46.89 square miles (121 square kilometers)
  • Population: Approximately 900,000
  • Became a City: April 15, 1850
  • Time Zone: Pacific time zone
  • City Flower: Dahlia
  • San Francisco is a city on the West Coast bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay.
  • Twin Peaks, Telegraph Hill, and Russian Hill are some of the widely known hills.
  • Islands are part of the city, too, such as Alcatraz Island (the famous prison) and Angel Island.

Climate

  • San Francisco has a Mediterranean climate influenced by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
  • The summer months, June to October, are warm to hot and dry.
  • The winter months, December to March, are cool and quite rainy. 

History

  • The Ohlone people were the first known residents in the area of San Francisco.
  • The Presidio of San Francisco was established in 1776 by the Spanish.
  • It was first named Yerba Buena (Spanish for “good herb”) because of the abundance of wild mint in the region.
  • San Francisco was part of Mexico from 1821 until the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848.
  • In 1847, the first mayor renamed the town San Francisco after St. Francis of Assisi.
  • San Francisco had a mere 469 residents before the Gold Rush started.
  • The California Gold Rush happened in 1848 when James Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill. This resulted in rapid growth in the town’s population from 469 to 35,000.
  • In 1906, a 7.9-magnitude earthquake caused an enormous fire that destroyed about three-quarters of the city.
  • The Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915 was a nine-month event to rebuild the city after the 1906 earthquake.
  • In 1929, the stock market crashed, but all banks in San Francisco continued to thrive.
  • The Golden Gate Bridge and the Oakland Bridge were built during the Great Depression.
  • From the 1990s to the 2000s, the dot-com bubble and the social media boom were pivotal points in the flourishing internet industry in San Francisco.

Famous Landmarks and Buildings

  • San Francisco is mainly well known for the town’s cable cars, historic buildings, Victorian homes, culturally diverse residents, and, of course, the Golden Gate Bridge.
  • Before the Golden Gate bridge was built, the only route between San Francisco and Marin County (located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area) was by ferry/boat across San Francisco Bay.
  • The Golden Gate Bridge is a magnificent suspension bridge built to connect the areas and, at the time of its opening in 1937, was both the tallest and longest suspension bridge in the world.
  • It has a span of 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and a height of 746 feet (227 m).
  • It is now one of the seven wonders of the modern world.
  • San Francisco has many impressive skyscrapers, including the Transamerica Pyramid, the Salesforce Tower, and the Millennium Tower.
  • John C. Fremont gave the name Chrysopylae (Golden Gate) to the San Francisco Bay’s entrance because it looked like the Golden Horn in Istanbul.
  • Golden Gate Park is one of the world’s biggest urban parks. It is home to many museums, sports facilities, and gardens.
  • Windy, crooked, and steep streets are part of hilly San Francisco.
  • Lombard Street is arguably the most popular steep street. Tourists flock to see this steep street with its eight hairpin turns.
  • However, Filbert Street is actually the steepest street at 31.5 degrees.
  • Vermont Avenue is the most crooked street in San Francisco.
  • The city’s cable cars are the only moving National Historic Monument. They run at the stately speed of 9 miles per hour.
  • Built in 1971, Mission Dolores, or Mission San Francisco de Asis is the oldest building in San Francisco.
  • Fisherman’s Wharf is a busy tourist spot on the northern waterfront where Pier 39 and Ghirardelli Square are located, among other more touristy locations.
  • Pier 39 offers picture-perfect views of the bridge, the city skyline, and Angel Island.
  • Ghirardelli’s first chocolate factory is one of the few business buildings that survived the 1906 fire.
  • Other tourist attractions in San Francisco are the Presidio, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Cable Car Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, the de Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and AT&T Park.
  • The Palace of Fine Arts was built for the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915 to display works of art.
  • The repainted Victorian and Edwardian houses in San Francisco are called “Painted Ladies”. If you want a good view of the “Painted Ladies”, you should head to Alamo Square.
  • Union Square is the place to be if you want to shop. It is one of the country’s best shopping areas. The only Frank Lloyd Wright Building in San Francisco is located here too.
  • The museum Palace of the Legion of Honor is a replica of Paris’ Palais de la Légion d’Honneur.
  • Angel Island is sometimes called the Ellis Island of the West because it was once where the Chinese and Japanese immigrants stayed while awaiting entry into San Francisco.
  • San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest in the US and second-largest outside Asia.
  • Alcatraz Island was a lighthouse base that became a military fort that became a prison.
  • In sports, AT&T Park is home to the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco’s major league baseball team.

Interesting Fun Facts

  • The Golden Gate Bridge was originally planned to be black and yellow as per the US Navy’s choice, but the architect preferred its existing shade, which is officially called “International Orange”.
  • Abandoned ships from the Gold Rush were torn apart and used to build houses and other buildings.
  • An “ugly law” was passed in 1897, which states that frightful- or awful-looking people can’t reveal their faces in public. That law has since been revoked.
  • In 1900, bubonic plague broke out in San Francisco’s Chinatown, the first in the country.
  • In 1901, burials were made illegal in the city.
  • Most of the dead are buried in the nearby town of Colma.
  • The only two cemeteries in San Francisco are the National Cemetery in Presidio and behind the Mission Dolores, but no one is allowed to bury there.
  • In 1945, the United Nations Charter was drafted and ratified in San Francisco.

Famous People

  • In 1859, San Francisco local Joshua Abraham Norton proclaimed himself the Emperor of the United States.
  • Gold Rush miners inspired Levi Strauss to invent denim pants, and so he made Levi’s.
  • Makoto Hagiwara, a Japanese resident in San Francisco, actually invented the Chinese fortune cookie at the Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden.
  • The Beatles performed their last full concert at Candlestick Park on August 29, 1966.
  • Elected in 1978, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in California. He served in San Francisco for eleven months.
  • Clint Eastwood, Bruce Lee, and Alicia Silverstone were some actors born in San Francisco. 
  • Singer-songwriter Jerry Garcia was also born there.
  • The band Journey was formed in San Francisco in 1973.

Did You Know?

  • The neighborhoods of Mission Bay, Marina, and Hunters Point are all built on reclamation land, alternatively called land fill. Land fill (written without a hyphen) is the process of creating new land from seas and oceans.
  • San Francisco’s Chinatown is the oldest one in North America. It covers a mere 30 city blocks and is home to more than 70,000 people. It is a great tourist attraction with bustling streets, karaoke bars, ornate temples, and many traditional Chinese eateries.

San Francisco Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about San Francisco across 26 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use San Francisco worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about San Francisco, which is a city located in Northern California. It is the 13th most populous city in the US. It is also called by its initials SF as well as San Fran, Frisco, The City by the Bay, The Golden City, and Fog City.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • San Francisco Facts
  • All About San Francisco
  • The Story of San Francisco
  • Notable Events
  • San Fran or San False
  • Weird Laws
  • Famous People Crossword
  • Spot the Tourist Spot
  • Favorite Fun Facts
  • Golden Gallery
  • A Tour By The Bay

Frequently Asked Questions

What is San Francisco famous for?

San Francisco is famous for its very steep streets, some of which have cable cars operating on them, the impressive Golden Gate Suspension Bridge, Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on an island in the middle of San Francisco Bay, and the rock band Full House.

Are there really sea lions in San Francisco?

After an earthquake hit San Francisco in 1989, sea lions began arriving at Pier 39. Nowadays, one sees hundreds there from late summer to late spring.

Are there still cable cars in San Francisco?

Between 1873 and 1890, San Francisco established 23 cable car lines. In 1964 the cable cars were named the first moving National Historic Landmark. Only three remain in use now.

Does San Francisco have a flag?

Yes, San Francisco does have a flag. It is white with a yellow border and in the center is a phoenix rising from flames. On a ribbon below the phoenix are the words “Oro en paz. Fierro en guerra.” translating to “Gold in Peace, Iron in War”. San Francisco is in blue capital letters at the bottom of the flag.

Are any flowers native to San Francisco?

There are several flowers native to San Francisco. A few of the well-known ones are the California (Golden) Poppy (Eschscholzia californica), Baby Blue Eyes (Nemophila menziesii), and the California Rhododendron (Rhododendron macrophyllum). 

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Link will appear as San Francisco Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 29, 2018

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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