Alameda (island)

A very small western tip of the island's territory is technically part of San Francisco; however, this is uninhabited and is not separately managed.

Much of it was low-lying and marshy, but on higher ground, the peninsula and adjacent parts of what is now downtown Oakland were home to one of the largest coastal oak forests in the world.

Alameda is Spanish for "grove of poplar trees" or "tree-lined avenue",[1] and was chosen in 1853 by popular vote.

The peninsula became part of the vast Rancho San Antonio granted to Luis Peralta by the viceroyalty under King Ferdinand VII of Spain.

[3] The island was created in 1902 with the opening of a canal on the south side to enhance tidal scouring to keep the estuary to the north cleared for shipping.

False color image of San Francisco Bay, showing Alameda Island as the largest island in the bay, just off the mainland of the East Bay, across from the end of the San Francisco Peninsula
An aerial photo of Alameda Island from the southeast looking along its length to the northwest.
Aerial photo of Alameda Island from the southeast, looking northwest towards San Francisco