Port of Redwood City
Encyclopedia
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
, on the West Coast of the United States
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
. This marine terminal is situated within the city of Redwood City, California
Redwood City, California
Redwood City is a California charter city located on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California, approximately 27 miles south of San Francisco, and 24 miles north of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans from its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people, to its tradition as a port for...
. The port
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
was developed from a natural deepwater channel discovered in the year 1850, at the mouth
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
of Redwood Creek
Redwood Creek, San Mateo County
Redwood Creek is a stream in San Mateo County, California, USA which discharges into South San Francisco Bay. The Port of Redwood City, the largest deepwater port in South San Francisco Bay, is situated on the east bank of Redwood Creek near its mouth. Extensive mudflats and marsh areas are found...
. From the early use as a log float port, commercial use expanded to a variety of industrial commodities; moreover, it is considered the birthplace of shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
on the North American west coast. As of 2004 the annual freight shipments have reached about two million metric tons. The Port of Redwood City provides berth
Berth (moorings)
A berth is a location in a port or harbour used specifically for mooring vessels while not at sea.-Locations in a port:Berth is the term used in ports and harbors to define a specific location where a vessel may be berthed, usually for the purposes of loading and unloading.Most berths will be...
s for dry bulk, liquid bulk, and project cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
es, along with certain recreation
Recreation
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure and are considered to be "fun"...
al opportunities and public access to San Francisco Bay.
The Port of Redwood City is the only deepwater
Deepwater
Deepwater or Deep Water may refer to ocean water in the abyssal zone, hadal zone, or other deep ocean zones. Other meanings include:- Locations :* In the United States:** Deepwater, Missouri, a small town located in west-central Missouri...
port in the South San Francisco Bay. Significant expanses of bay mud
Bay mud
Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles...
are present nearby: in Redwood Creek, Westpoint Slough
Westpoint Slough
Westpoint Slough is the largest of several sloughs feeding into Redwood Creek in San Mateo County, California, USA. This slough is surrounded by extensive undisturbed marshlands including Greco Island, which forms its northern boundary...
and especially at the mouth of Redwood Creek, where bay muds extend almost two kilometers into San Francisco Bay. In fact, the Port of Redwood City is the only major California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
port with significant expanses of natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
area in its immediate proximity.
History
Robert O. Tripp (founder of the historic Woodside Store) and Mathias A. Parkhurst began the first lumberLumber
Lumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
operation using the waterway
Waterway
A waterway is any navigable body of water. Waterways can include rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, and canals. In order for a waterway to be navigable, it must meet several criteria:...
s of Redwood Creek to float coast redwoods from Woodside
Woodside, California
Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. It uses a council-manager system of government. The U.S. Census estimated the population of the town to be 5,287 in 2010....
to San Francisco in 1850. These two men thus became the founders of Redwood City itself. The Port of Redwood City is considered the place of genesis for the shipbuilding industry on the Pacific West Coast. The first schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
was built here in 1851 by G.M. Burnham and appropriately named Redwood. Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
thrived here until the 1880s. The last wooden ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
built in Redwood City, called the Perseverance, was launched in 1883.
The Port was called El Embarcadero up until at least the 1880s; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
d of a 7 feet (2.1 m) channel between 1886 and 1889, to yield a channel 50 feet (15.2 m) wide. In 1903, the Corps increased the channel width to 100 feet (30.5 m) and by 1911, they broadened it to 150 feet (45.7 m). In 1931, local and federal interests combined to deepen the channel to 20 feet (6.1 m) and widen it to 200 feet (61 m), for a lineal distance of 13360 feet (4,072.1 m).
Local businessmen and civic leaders formed the Redwood City Harbor Company in the year 1912, establishing the name of the Port for the era of the early 20th century. In this period competition from the railroad limited growth of the port. A number of industrial companies, however, saw the value of the Port's location, including the Alaska Codfish Company and the Morgan Oyster Company. In particular the Pacific-Portland Cement Company, moving to the Port in 1924, substantially increased shipping activity.
Geology and hydrology
The Port of Redwood City is situated on the east banks of Redwood Creek approximately one kilometer upchannel from the mouth of Redwood Creek. Extensive areas of marshMarsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
land and bay mud
Bay mud
Bay mud consists of thick deposits of soft, unconsolidated silty clay, which is saturated with water; these soil layers are situated at the bottom of certain estuaries, which are normally in temperate regions that have experienced cyclical glacial cycles...
s are found in the vicinity of the Port. Westpoint Slough
Westpoint Slough
Westpoint Slough is the largest of several sloughs feeding into Redwood Creek in San Mateo County, California, USA. This slough is surrounded by extensive undisturbed marshlands including Greco Island, which forms its northern boundary...
joins Redwood Creek from the southeast about 600 meters north of the Port of Redwood City. Deepwater Slough is a U-shaped channel
Channel (geography)
In physical geography, a channel is the physical confine of a river, slough or ocean strait consisting of a bed and banks.A channel is also the natural or human-made deeper course through a reef, sand bar, bay, or any shallow body of water...
whose two ends join Redwood Creek both north and south of the Port, with both joins on the opposite site of Redwood Creek. Approximately one kilometer north of the Port of Redwood City, Corkscrew Slough enters Redwood Creek from the northwest. From that confluence
Confluence
Confluence, in geography, describes the meeting of two or more bodies of water.Confluence may also refer to:* Confluence , a property of term rewriting systems...
northward the northwest bank of Redwood Creek (now at the mouth) consists of Bair Island
Bair Island
Bair Island is a marsh area in Redwood City, California covering , and includes three islands: Inner, Middle and Outer islands.Bair Island is part of the larger Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge....
, an expansive area of saltwater marsh and salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation pond
Salt evaporation ponds, also called salterns or salt pans, are shallow artificial ponds designed to produce salts from sea water or other brines. The seawater or brine is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested...
s.
Typical high tides at the Port range from 7.0 to 8.4 feet (2.6 m), based upon February, 2007 tide chart data. Low tide typically varies from -0.8 to 2.9 foot (0.88392 m).
Microclimate
Climates within the San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
have superficial similarities, but certain features have pronounced differences. For this reason a detailed microclimate study was conducted at the Port of Redwood City, with the specific goal of comparing meteorological parameters to nearby locations. Temperatures, for example, were found to conform closely to those of San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco International Airport is a major international airport located south of downtown San Francisco, California, United States, near the cities of Millbrae and San Bruno in unincorporated San Mateo County. It is often referred to as SFO...
and Palo Alto Airport; in contrast, wind speeds at the Port were found to be approximately half the levels of San Francisco Airport. This result is not surprising since Conomos observed that the wind speeds in Northern San Mateo County are high due to the San Bruno Gap in the Santa Cruz Mountains
Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz Mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are a mountain range in central California, United States. They form a ridge along the San Francisco Peninsula, south of San Francisco, separating the Pacific Ocean from San Francisco Bay and the Santa Clara Valley, and continuing south,...
.
Recreational use
The Port of Redwood City has more than one lineal mile of public access along Redwood Creek, including walkways, viewing areas and picnicPicnic
In contemporary usage, a picnic can be defined simply as a pleasure excursion at which a meal is eaten outdoors , ideally taking place in a beautiful landscape such as a park, beside a lake or with an interesting view and possibly at a public event such as before an open air theatre performance,...
areas. The Port provides a venue for a number of public events and festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s, including visits by historic ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s and sailing vessel
Sailing vessel
Sailing vessel can refer to:*Sailing ship*Sailboat*Ice boat*Land yacht...
s. Some of the specific activities include a decorated boat parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
, crew race
Rowing (sport)
Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
s, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
an outrigger canoe
Outrigger canoe
The outrigger canoe is a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull...
races, and sailing regatta
Regatta
A regatta is a series of boat races. The term typically describes racing events of rowed or sailed water craft, although some powerboat race series are also called regattas...
s. The 190-berth Redwood City Marina is operated within the Port of Redwood City. This facility accommodates vessels up to 50 feet (15.2 m) in length and has 10 feet (3 m) of draft at low tide. The Port provides electricity and water service to the permanent and overnight boats; restrooms, showers, and laundry facilities are also available for marina users. The port operates a 24/7
24/7
24/7 is an abbreviation which stands for "24 hours a day, 7 days a week", usually referring to a business or service available at all times without interruption...
boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
launch facility, the only such capability offered in San Francisco Bay south of Coyote Point.
Role in emergency water transit
Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, in his 2007 state of the State of California address, unveiled a plan for emergency water transit for the San Francisco Bay Region. The plan provides for a key role for the Port of Redwood city which "is strategically located between two bridges — the Dumbarton Bridge
Dumbarton Bridge (California)
The Dumbarton Bridge is the southernmost of the highway bridges that span the San Francisco Bay in California. Carrying over 81,000 vehicles daily, it is also the shortest bridge across San Francisco Bay at 1.63 miles...
and the San Mateo Bridge. A Redwood City ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
terminal would be a crucial link, and also serve about 1400 regular passengers a day". The plan, inspired by New York City's harbor service following 9/11, would feature 88 new vessels and multiple portable pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
s that could be deployed to respond to an emergency. The Port of Redwood City, whose director has endorsed the plan, would play a key role as a permanent marine terminal installation for the proposed system. The entity to conduct this $1.6 billion project is named the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority
San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority
The San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority , is a government entity created by the California state legislature in 2007 by Senate Bill 976. The organization was formerly the San Francisco Bay Water Transit Authority , which the legislature established in 1999...
.
See also
- Port of OaklandPort of OaklandThe Port of Oakland was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. It is now the fifth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newark, and Savannah...
- Port of San FranciscoPort of San FranciscoThe Port of San Francisco lies on the western edge of the San Francisco Bay near the Golden Gate. It has been called one of the three great natural harbors in the world, but it took two long centuries for navigators from Spain and England to find the anchorage originally called Yerba Buena...
- Seaport CentreSeaport CentreSeaport Centre is a high-tech business park located in Redwood City, California, USA, and as of 2007 is one of the largest biotechnology research complexes in the San Francisco Bay Area....