See if you can find San Francisco, California, USA on a map. Do you think San Francisco is a port city? Why or why not?

We've learned enough about ports around the world that we can probably figure out the answer to this question without too much trouble. Let's see: what questions should we ask to see if San Francisco is a port city?

Well first, we know a port must have access to good transportation on land or sea or both to succeed. Does San Francisco? The answer to this first question is 'yes.' San Francisco is located on San Francisco Bay, one of the best natural harbors in the world. From San Francisco, ships have easy access to the Pacific Ocean. From the Pacific, ships can travel to Asia or South America. Or they can travel through the Panama Canal to the Atlantic Ocean.

San Francisco has been a major Pacific port for several hundred years. It was once the home of the Pacific whaling fleet. And in 1867, a company called the Pacific Mail Steamship Company opened the first transpacific service, sailing from San Francisco to Yokohama, Japan and Hong Kong. That company's name today? APL, of course!

Second, we know that a port must have access to goods to trade. Does San Francisco? The answer to this question is also 'yes.' California is one of the USA's most important farm states. Almonds, oranges, and many other types of fruits and vegetables are grown in California. Many of these important crops are sped around the world through the Port of San Francisco.

Because we know so much about the history of ports by now, we might ask a third question about Santos. Was it settled by European traders in the 1500s or 1600s as they explored the world in search of goods to trade?

Well, not quite but almost. Historians believe that the Spanish explorers of the 1500s and 1600s (including Sir Francis Drake!) sailed right past San Francisco Bay as they explored the California coast. Oops! But San Francisco was eventually settled by Spanish explorers in the 1700s. They set up a military fort and a mission church on the bay and named their settlement for Saint Francis.

Like every port we've studied, the Port of San Francisco has changed over the years. Sailing ships, steamships, and whaling ships no longer throng in and out of the harbor. They've been replaced with huge container ships and terminals lined with tall container cranes. People eager to find gold and get rich quick no longer sail in and out of San Francisco, as they did in the 1850s. And San Francisco is no longer a Spanish fort, but a modern city that is part of the United States of America.

Study Question:

San Francisco is not the only port on the San Francisco Bay. Using your map, can you identify another major port on the bay? Hint: It's the U.S. headquarters of APL!

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