Richardson Bay
Encyclopedia
Richardson Bay is a shallow, ecologically
rich arm of San Francisco Bay
, managed under a Joint Powers Agency of four Northern California
cities. The 911 acres (368.7 ha) Richardson Bay Sanctuary was acquired in the early 1960s by the National Audubon Society
. The bay was named for William A. Richardson, early 19th century sea captain and builder
in San Francisco.
Richardson Bay is one of the most pristine estuaries on the Pacific Coast in spite of its urbanized periphery, since it supports extensive eelgrass
areas and sizable undisturbed intertidal
habitats. It is a feeding and resting area for a panoply of estuarine and pelagic birds, while its associated marsh
es and littoral
zones support a variety of animal and plant life. Richardson Bay has been designated as an Important Bird Area
(IBA), based upon its large number of annual bird visitors and residents, its sightings of California clapper rail
and its strategic location in the flyway
. The bay's waters are subject to a "no discharge" rule to protect the elaborate and fragile ecosystems present, including a complex fishery
, diverse mollusk populations and even marine mammal
s such as the harbor seal
.
Due to its lack of depth and tricky channel structure, Richardson Bay is limited in boating uses to kayak
ing and small sailing
craft. There are extensive hiking
and bicycling paths at the bay perimeter, especially in the shore areas of Mill Valley and the town of Tiburon.
On August 22, 1822, an English whaler
, the Orion, put into Yerba Buena Cove in San Francisco for supplies; the captain was William Anthony Richardson, described as tall, fair haired, blue-eyed and young, was sighted by Maria Antonia, daughter of the Commandante of the Presidio of San Francisco
, Ygnacio Martinez. Martinez, for whom the town of Martinez
is named, decided to invite the Captain to reside with their family. Maria soon married the captain, after he joined the Catholic Church being baptized "Guillermo Antonio Richardson." This wedding, held at Mission Dolores on May 12, 1826 was the first great Spanish-Anglo Saxon wedding in North America.
Richardson taught carpentry
, boat building and navigation
at Mission Dolores, served as Captain of the Port of San Francisco
, and built the first significant residence in San Francisco, although it was meant to be a trading post. He had charge of several schooner
s belonging to the Mission Dolores and Mission Santa Clara. Richardson received a 19500 acres (79 km²) Mexican
land grant
in 1838, Rancho Saucelito
, which is all of the land north of the Golden Gate
extending from bay to ocean and ranging north to Mount Tamalpais
The grant contained all the land southeast of Mount Tamalpais
, and included Redwood Canyon and the lands now within Muir Woods National Monument
. Richardson Bay was thus named in the honor of this energetic early settler
and builder.
The Tiburon Peninsula
on the east side of the bay was part of Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio
granted to John Thomas Reed
in 1834.
According to local sources and period maps, the Bay's original given name was possessive: Richardson's Bay. However, the United States Board on Geographic Names
discourages the use of apostrophes in United States place names, which is why the name appears as Richardson Bay in government databases and maps.
s of clay
s, silt
s and minor sand
s and gravel
s deposited in a primarily marine and estuarine environment during periods of previous high stands of water relative to the present shoreline. The bay mud
s are widespread in San Francisco Bay and, at Richardson Bay, are approximately 80 to 95 feet (24 to 30 meters) deep. The Bay Muds are of Holocene Age (less than 10,000 years of age). They overlie firm alluvial soils which contain two sand layers at 92 and 110 feet (29 and 35 meters), respectively . This section, in turn, overlies shale
of the Franciscan Complex, a heterogeneous mixture of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rock
gathered together in the course of the tectonic evolution of the region from the Late Jurassic to the Middle Miocene
. These assemblages of Franciscan rocks are referred to as tectonostratigraphic
terrains and two of them, the Central Belt and the Coastal Belt, are in fault contact near Richardson Bay.
Richardson Bay is an important ecological area being managed by Audubon California as the Audubon Richardson Bay Sanctuary. There are significant estuarine resources, marsh
bird
life, mammal
ian species and marsh plants.
Birds are abundant in Richardson Bay, with over one million migratory visitors each winter, many of whom utilizing the upper mudflats and Bothin Marsh associated with the area west of the U.S. Route 101. In addition to being designated a high score IBA, Richardson Bay has been dedicated as a Hemispheric Reserve of the Western Shorebird Network. Migrating birds that winter regularly at Richardson Bay include Least sandpiper
, Western Sandpiper
, Spotted sandpiper
, American avocet
, Dunlin
, Marbled godwit
, Greater yellowlegs
, Willet
, Long-billed curlew
and Dowitcher
s. A special resident of Bothin Marsh, Blackies' Creek mouth and DeSilva Island is the California clapper rail
, a non-migratory endangered species
.
Common year around residents of the Richardson Bay Sanctuary include Great blue heron
, Snowy egret
, and Great egret
; mallard
; Red-tailed hawk
and Turkey Vulture
; Killdeer
and Western gull
; Morning Dove and Rock Dove; Anna's hummingbird
. Common residents Passeriformes include Scrub jay, American crow
, Chestnut-backed Chickadee
, bushtit
, Bewick's Wren
, House sparrow
, Red-winged blackbird
, House finch
, California Towhee
and Song sparrow
.
Fishery characteristics of Richardson Bay include a Pacific herring
fishery
and oyster
beds. the herring fishing fleet
serving all of San Francisco Bay is based in Richardson Bay at the Sausalito harbor. This herring fishing is overseen by the California Department of Fish and Game
; the herring population is in a downward trend, although not currently from excessive fishing pressure
with the net techniques in use, but rather from ocean
environmental factors. Herring spend most of their lives in the open ocean and come to Richardson Bay and other estuaries for winter spawning in the shallow protected waters. In Richardson Bay their eggs attach to assorted surfaces such as eelgrass, piers or rip rap. After the eggs hatch, the herring larva
e consume plankton
; before hatching the eggs are subject to predation by gull
s at low tide and sturgeon
and other assorted estuarine fauna at higher tides.
Regarding the oyster beds, an experimental program is underway as of 2006, in which foreign oyster shells (biologically inert) are bagged and emplaced in underwater locations to serve as larval substrates, in order to assist the native oysters in propagating. Locally oysters are preyed upon by the bat ray
and certain crab
s.
Marine invertebrate
s The mudflat
s of Richardson Bay provide a rich habitat
for marine invertebrates. The extensive mudflat area here supports many of the same species found elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay. Characteristic organisms include burrowing clam
s, polychaete
worms, decapod crustacean
s, amphipods, phoronid
s and anemone
s. A field survey conducted on a broad mudflat along the Strawberry/Belvedere shoreline found species associated with rocks including: the bivalves, (Macoma balthica
), (Mya arenaria) and (Mytilus edulis); the Sea snail
(Littorina planaxis); the crab
(Hemigrapsis oregonensis); the isopod (Sphaeroma quoyanum); the barnacle
s Balanus glandula
and Balanus amphitrite
; the nemertean Lineus ruber; the anemone
s Diadumene leucolena and Haliplanella luciae.
Mammals visiting Richardson Bay include the Harbor Seal
, who hauls out on DeSilva Island and the Tiburon shore near the Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary headquarters. The endangered species
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
is also thought to be present.
Flora include intertidal and upland species
. Probably the most notable feature is the extensive eelgrass
population at the tideland perimeter of Richardson Bay. This eelgrass occurrence in Richardson Bay is considered one of the most sizeable stands in Northern California, and it is also currently undergoing restoration, leading to further extent of this habitat. There is also an extensive pickleweed
habitat at the western end of the bay, where many acres of mudflat areas are exposed to shorebirds at low tide at the efflux of Pickleweed Inlet
. Upland plants found at the perimeter of Richardson Bay include toyon
, coast live oak
, California bay, and native California bunch grasses.
On November 7, 2007, there was a large oil spill
in the San Francisco Bay
. This Cosco Busan oil spill was found to be lethal to herring fry in oiled versus non-oiled sites in Richardson Bay. This spill has greatly affected the organisms in the bay
.
Through the latter 19th century and early 20th century, the land fronting on Richardson Bay was extensively subdivided into public and private ownership encompassing hundreds of parcels. The cities of Tiburon
, Mill Valley
, Belvedere
and Sausalito
have enacted strong shoreline development policies to protect the perimeter of Richardson Bay, even though considerable development has occurred. The Audubon Society manages the whole Richardson Bay Sanctuary subject to governance by the Joint Powers Agency of the four peripheral cities.
One parcel deeded from Reed to Rosie Verall, who worked for the Reed family, is now the core of the Audubon Richardson Bay Sanctuary. Verall donated this land of approximately 13 acres (5.3 ha) to be held in permanent trust as a wildlife
sanctuary. The Audubon Society purchased this upland parcel along with the entirety of the subtidal and intertidal lands of Richardson Bay in 1960. The Lyford House built in 1876 occupies the Verall parcel, even though the house was originally built at a different location in the vicinity known as Strawberry Point. The house is furnished in period style and is presently used by the Audubon Society for special functions and events.
Richardson bay joins San Francisco Bay
where the water depth becomes 20 feet (6 m), demarcated by a highly irregular boundary connecting the southern end of the Sausalito Marina
with the southern tip of Belvedere
, sometimes called Peninsula Point. At this line of demarcation the depth increases rapidly on the San Francisco Bay side, becoming 100 feet (30 m) in depth almost immediately. This portion of San Francisco Bay, also known as Raccoon Strait
, possesses highly turbulent waters. Boating in Richardson Bay is limited to small sailing craft and kayak
s due to limited draft
available, and the bay is closed entirely for several months of the year to provide protection for the ecological system.
Richardson Bay receives inflow from numerous seasonal small unnamed streams and three major streams: Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio
which receives the surface runoff
from the steep southeast slopes of Mount Tamalpais
; Pickleweed Inlet
; and Coyote Creek (Marin County)
, which receives the runoff from the slopes to the west of Richardson Bay. These streams empty into Richardson Bay from the northwest. Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio and Coyote Creek are intermittent in flow.
in Tiburon, California
that offers adult and children's nature programs, including summer camp, school science programs, birthday and family events, lectures, guided walks, environmental education workshops, Bay Shore Studies docent programs and volunteer projects.
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
rich arm of San Francisco Bay
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...
, managed under a Joint Powers Agency of four Northern 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...
cities. The 911 acres (368.7 ha) Richardson Bay Sanctuary was acquired in the early 1960s by the National Audubon Society
National Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
. The bay was named for William A. Richardson, early 19th century sea captain and builder
General contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
in San Francisco.
Richardson Bay is one of the most pristine estuaries on the Pacific Coast in spite of its urbanized periphery, since it supports extensive eelgrass
Zostera
Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass . The genus Zostera contains sixteen species.-Ecology:Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating...
areas and sizable undisturbed intertidal
Intertidal zone
The intertidal zone is the area that is above water at low tide and under water at high tide . This area can include many different types of habitats, with many types of animals like starfish, sea urchins, and some species of coral...
habitats. It is a feeding and resting area for a panoply of estuarine and pelagic birds, while its associated marsh
Marsh
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....
es and littoral
Littoral
The littoral zone is that part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to...
zones support a variety of animal and plant life. Richardson Bay has been designated as an Important Bird Area
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA), based upon its large number of annual bird visitors and residents, its sightings of California clapper rail
California Clapper Rail
The California Clapper Rail is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail . It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay...
and its strategic location in the flyway
Flyway
A flyway is a flight path used in bird migration. Flyways generally span over continents and often oceans.-Flyways of the Americas:*Atlantic Flyway*Central Flyway*Mississippi Flyway*Pacific Flyway*Allegheny Front...
. The bay's waters are subject to a "no discharge" rule to protect the elaborate and fragile ecosystems present, including a complex fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
, diverse mollusk populations and even marine mammal
Marine mammal
Marine mammals, which include seals, whales, dolphins, and walruses, form a diverse group of 128 species that rely on the ocean for their existence. They do not represent a distinct biological grouping, but rather are unified by their reliance on the marine environment for feeding. The level of...
s such as the harbor seal
Harbor Seal
The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...
.
Due to its lack of depth and tricky channel structure, Richardson Bay is limited in boating uses to kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
ing and small sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
craft. There are extensive hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
and bicycling paths at the bay perimeter, especially in the shore areas of Mill Valley and the town of Tiburon.
History of the name
Whaler
A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...
, the Orion, put into Yerba Buena Cove in San Francisco for supplies; the captain was William Anthony Richardson, described as tall, fair haired, blue-eyed and young, was sighted by Maria Antonia, daughter of the Commandante of the Presidio of San Francisco
Presidio of San Francisco
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
, Ygnacio Martinez. Martinez, for whom the town of Martinez
Martinez
-Argentina:* Martínez, Buenos Aires* Coronel Martínez de Hoz, Buenos Aires Province* Villa Martínez de Hoz, Buenos Aires Province* Martínez del Tineo, Salta...
is named, decided to invite the Captain to reside with their family. Maria soon married the captain, after he joined the Catholic Church being baptized "Guillermo Antonio Richardson." This wedding, held at Mission Dolores on May 12, 1826 was the first great Spanish-Anglo Saxon wedding in North America.
Richardson taught carpentry
Carpentry
A carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
, boat building and navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
at Mission Dolores, served as Captain of the Port of San Francisco
Port of San Francisco
The 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...
, and built the first significant residence in San Francisco, although it was meant to be a trading post. He had charge of several 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....
s belonging to the Mission Dolores and Mission Santa Clara. Richardson received a 19500 acres (79 km²) Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
land grant
Land grant
A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...
in 1838, Rancho Saucelito
Rancho Saucelito
Rancho Saucelito was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1838 by Governor Juan Alvarado to William A. Richardson. The name means "ranch of the little willow grove"...
, which is all of the land north of the Golden Gate
Golden Gate
The Golden Gate is the North American strait connecting San Francisco Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Since 1937 it has been spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge...
extending from bay to ocean and ranging north to Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Mount Tamalpais Watershed.-Geography:...
The grant contained all the land southeast of Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Mount Tamalpais Watershed.-Geography:...
, and included Redwood Canyon and the lands now within Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on the Pacific coast of southwestern Marin County, California, north of San Francisco and part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area...
. Richardson Bay was thus named in the honor of this energetic early settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
and builder.
The Tiburon Peninsula
Tiburon Peninsula
The Tiburon Peninsula , or simply "the Tiburon", is a region of Haiti encompassing all of Haiti's southern coast. It starts roughly at the southernmost of the Haiti-Dominican Republic border and extends westward near Cuba, forming a large headland. Four of Haiti's ten departments are located...
on the east side of the bay was part of Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio
Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio
Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio was a Mexican land grant in present day Marin County, California given in 1834 by Governor José Figueroa to John Reed. Corte Madera del Presidio means the "lumber mill of the Presidio". The grant encompassed what is now southern Corte Madera, Mill Valley,...
granted to John Thomas Reed
John Reed (Early Californian)
John Thomas Reed was an early California European settler who was the grantee of Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio in what is present day Marin County, California.-Life:Reed went to Acapulco, Mexico in 1820...
in 1834.
According to local sources and period maps, the Bay's original given name was possessive: Richardson's Bay. However, the United States Board on Geographic Names
United States Board on Geographic Names
The United States Board on Geographic Names is a United States federal body whose purpose is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the U.S. government.-Overview:...
discourages the use of apostrophes in United States place names, which is why the name appears as Richardson Bay in government databases and maps.
Geology
Richardson Bay is developed on surficial sedimentSediment
Sediment is naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of fluids such as wind, water, or ice, and/or by the force of gravity acting on the particle itself....
s of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
s, silt
Silt
Silt is granular material of a size somewhere between sand and clay whose mineral origin is quartz and feldspar. Silt may occur as a soil or as suspended sediment in a surface water body...
s and minor sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.The composition of sand is highly variable, depending on the local rock sources and conditions, but the most common constituent of sand in inland continental settings and non-tropical coastal...
s and gravel
Gravel
Gravel is composed of unconsolidated rock fragments that have a general particle size range and include size classes from granule- to boulder-sized fragments. Gravel can be sub-categorized into granule and cobble...
s deposited in a primarily marine and estuarine environment during periods of previous high stands of water relative to the present shoreline. The 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 widespread in San Francisco Bay and, at Richardson Bay, are approximately 80 to 95 feet (24 to 30 meters) deep. The Bay Muds are of Holocene Age (less than 10,000 years of age). They overlie firm alluvial soils which contain two sand layers at 92 and 110 feet (29 and 35 meters), respectively . This section, in turn, overlies shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
of the Franciscan Complex, a heterogeneous mixture of sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock
Metamorphic rock is the transformation of an existing rock type, the protolith, in a process called metamorphism, which means "change in form". The protolith is subjected to heat and pressure causing profound physical and/or chemical change...
gathered together in the course of the tectonic evolution of the region from the Late Jurassic to the Middle Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
. These assemblages of Franciscan rocks are referred to as tectonostratigraphic
Tectonostratigraphy
In geology, tectonostratigraphy refers either to rock sequences in which large-scale layering is caused by the stacking of thrust sheets or nappes in areas of thrust tectonics or the effects of tectonics on lithostratigraphy.-Tectonically formed stratigraphy:...
terrains and two of them, the Central Belt and the Coastal Belt, are in fault contact near Richardson Bay.
Ecology
Marsh
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....
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
life, mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
ian species and marsh plants.
Birds are abundant in Richardson Bay, with over one million migratory visitors each winter, many of whom utilizing the upper mudflats and Bothin Marsh associated with the area west of the U.S. Route 101. In addition to being designated a high score IBA, Richardson Bay has been dedicated as a Hemispheric Reserve of the Western Shorebird Network. Migrating birds that winter regularly at Richardson Bay include Least sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
The Least Sandpiper is the smallest shorebird.This species has greenish legs and a short thin dark bill. Breeding adults are brown with dark brown streaks on top and white underneath. They have a light line above the eye and a dark crown. In winter, Least Sandpipers are grey above...
, Western Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
The Western Sandpiper, Calidris or Erolia mauri, is a small shorebird.Adults have dark legs and a short thin dark bill, thinner at the tip. The body is brown on top and white underneath. They are reddish-brown on the crown. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny...
, Spotted sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
The Spotted Sandpiper is a small shorebird, 18–20 cm long. Together with its sister species, the Common Sandpiper they make up the genus Actitis...
, American avocet
American Avocet
The American Avocet is a large wader in the avocet and stilt family, Recurvirostridae.This avocet has long, thin, gray legs, giving it its colloquial name, "blue shanks". The plumage is black and white on the back with white on the underbelly. The neck and head are cinnamon colored in the summer...
, Dunlin
Dunlin
The Dunlin, Calidris alpina, is a small wader, sometimes separated with the other "stints" in Erolia. It is a circumpolar breeder in Arctic or subarctic regions. Birds that breed in northern Europe and Asia are long-distance migrants, wintering south to Africa, southeast Asia and the Middle East...
, Marbled godwit
Marbled Godwit
The Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, is a large shorebird. On average, it is the largest of the 4 species of godwit. The total length is , including a large bill of , and wingspan is . Body mass can vary from ....
, Greater yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs
The Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca, is a large North American shorebird, similar in appearance to the smaller Lesser Yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the Greenshank, which together with the Spotted Redshank form a close-knit group...
, Willet
Willet
The Willet, Tringa semipalmata , is a large shorebird in the sandpiper family. It is a good-sized and stout scolopacid, the largest of the shanks...
, Long-billed curlew
Long-billed Curlew
The Long-billed Curlew, Numenius americanus, is a large North American shorebird of the family Scolopacidae. This species was also called "sicklebird" and the "candlestick bird". The species is native to central and western North America...
and Dowitcher
Dowitcher
The three dowitchers are medium-sized long-billed wading birds. They resemble godwits in body and bill shape, and the reddish underparts in summer, but are much shorter legged, more like snipe to which they are also somewhat closer related...
s. A special resident of Bothin Marsh, Blackies' Creek mouth and DeSilva Island is the California clapper rail
California Clapper Rail
The California Clapper Rail is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail . It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay...
, a non-migratory endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
Common year around residents of the Richardson Bay Sanctuary include Great blue heron
Great Blue Heron
The Great Blue Heron is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North and Central America as well as the West Indies and the Galápagos Islands. It is a rare vagrant to Europe, with records from Spain, the Azores and England...
, Snowy egret
Snowy Egret
The Snowy Egret is a small white heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World Little Egret, which has established a foothold in the Bahamas....
, and Great egret
Great Egret
The Great Egret , also known as the Great White Egret or Common Egret, White Heron, or Great White Heron, is a large, widely-distributed egret. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, in southern Europe it is rather localized...
; mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
; Red-tailed hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
The Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk," though it rarely preys on standard sized chickens. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West...
and Turkey Vulture
Turkey Vulture
The Turkey Vulture is a bird found throughout most of the Americas. It is also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard , and in some areas of the Caribbean as the John Crow or Carrion Crow...
; Killdeer
Killdeer
The Killdeer is a medium-sized plover.Adults have a brown back and wings, a white belly, and a white breast with two black bands. The rump is tawny orange. The face and cap are brown with a white forehead. They have an orange-red eyering...
and Western gull
Western Gull
The Western Gull, Larus occidentalis, is a large white-headed gull that lives on the western coast of North America. It was previously considered conspecific, the same species, with the Yellow-footed Gull of the Gulf of California...
; Morning Dove and Rock Dove; Anna's hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird is a medium-sized hummingbird native to the west coast of North America. This bird was named after Anna Masséna, Duchess of Rivoli.-Description:...
. Common residents Passeriformes include Scrub jay, American crow
American Crow
The American Crow is a large passerine bird species of the family Corvidae. It is a common bird found throughout much of North America...
, Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
The Chestnut-backed Chickadee is a small passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae....
, bushtit
Bushtit
The Bushtit is a long-tailed tit found in North America. It is the only species in the family found in the New World, and the only member of the genus Psaltriparus....
, Bewick's Wren
Bewick's Wren
The Bewick's Wren is a wren native to North America. At about 14 cm long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearance to the Carolina Wren, it has a long tail that is tipped in white. The song is loud and melodious, much like the song of other...
, House sparrow
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is a bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, found in most parts of the world. One of about 25 species in the genus Passer, the House Sparrow occurs naturally in most of Europe, the Mediterranean region, and much of Asia...
, Red-winged blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
The Red-winged Blackbird is a passerine bird of the family Icteridae found in most of North and much of Central America. It breeds from Alaska and Newfoundland south to Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and Guatemala, with isolated populations in western El Salvador, northwestern Honduras, and...
, House finch
House Finch
The House Finch is a bird in the finch family Fringillidae, which is found in North America. This species and the other "American rosefinches" are usually placed in the rosefinch genus Carpodacus...
, California Towhee
California Towhee
The California Towhee, Melozone crissalis, is a bird of the family Emberizidae, native to the coastal regions of western Oregon and California in the United States and Baja California Sur in Mexico....
and Song sparrow
Song Sparrow
The Song Sparrow is a medium-sized American sparrow.Adults have brown upperparts with dark streaks on the back and are white underneath with dark streaking and a dark brown spot in the middle of the breast. They have a brown cap and a long brown rounded tail. Their face is grey with a streak...
.
Fishery characteristics of Richardson Bay include a Pacific herring
Pacific herring
The Pacific herring, Clupea pallasii, is a species of the herring family associated with the Pacific Ocean environment of North America and northeast Asia. This species is a silvery fish with unspined fins and a deeply forked caudal fin...
fishery
Fishery
Generally, a fishery is an entity engaged in raising or harvesting fish which is determined by some authority to be a fishery. According to the FAO, a fishery is typically defined in terms of the "people involved, species or type of fish, area of water or seabed, method of fishing, class of boats,...
and oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
beds. the herring fishing fleet
Fishing fleet
A fishing fleet is an aggregate of commercial fishing vessels. The term may be used of all vessels operating out of a particular port, all vessels engaged in a particular type of fishing , or all fishing vessels of a country or region.Although fishing vessels are not formally organized as if they...
serving all of San Francisco Bay is based in Richardson Bay at the Sausalito harbor. This herring fishing is overseen by the California Department of Fish and Game
California Department of Fish and Game
The California Department of Fish and Game is a department within the government of California, falling under its parent California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Game manages and protects the state's diverse fish, wildlife, plant resources, and native habitats...
; the herring population is in a downward trend, although not currently from excessive fishing pressure
Overfishing
Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....
with the net techniques in use, but rather from ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
environmental factors. Herring spend most of their lives in the open ocean and come to Richardson Bay and other estuaries for winter spawning in the shallow protected waters. In Richardson Bay their eggs attach to assorted surfaces such as eelgrass, piers or rip rap. After the eggs hatch, the herring larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e consume plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
; before hatching the eggs are subject to predation by gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s at low tide and sturgeon
Sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name used for some 26 species of fish in the family Acipenseridae, including the genera Acipenser, Huso, Scaphirhynchus and Pseudoscaphirhynchus. The term includes over 20 species commonly referred to as sturgeon and several closely related species that have distinct common...
and other assorted estuarine fauna at higher tides.
Regarding the oyster beds, an experimental program is underway as of 2006, in which foreign oyster shells (biologically inert) are bagged and emplaced in underwater locations to serve as larval substrates, in order to assist the native oysters in propagating. Locally oysters are preyed upon by the bat ray
Bat ray
The bat ray, Myliobatis californica, is an eagle ray found in muddy or sandy sloughs, estuaries and bays, kelp beds and rocky-bottomed shoreline in the eastern Pacific Ocean, between the Oregon coast and the Gulf of California. It is also found in the area around the Galápagos Islands. The largest...
and certain crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
s.
Marine invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s The mudflat
Mudflat
Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats, are coastal wetlands that form when mud is deposited by tides or rivers. They are found in sheltered areas such as bays, bayous, lagoons, and estuaries. Mudflats may be viewed geologically as exposed layers of bay mud, resulting from deposition of...
s of Richardson Bay provide a rich 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...
for marine invertebrates. The extensive mudflat area here supports many of the same species found elsewhere in the San Francisco Bay. Characteristic organisms include burrowing clam
Clam
The word "clam" can be applied to freshwater mussels, and other freshwater bivalves, as well as marine bivalves.In the United States, "clam" can be used in several different ways: one, as a general term covering all bivalve molluscs...
s, polychaete
Polychaete
The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000...
worms, decapod crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, amphipods, phoronid
Phoronid
Phoronids are a phylum of marine animals that filter-feed with a lophophore , and build upright tubes of chitin to support and protect their soft bodies. They live in all the oceans and seas including the Arctic Ocean but excluding the Antarctic Ocean, and between the intertidal zone and about...
s and anemone
Anemone
Anemone , is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae in the north and south temperate zones...
s. A field survey conducted on a broad mudflat along the Strawberry/Belvedere shoreline found species associated with rocks including: the bivalves, (Macoma balthica
Macoma balthica
Macoma balthica, commonly called the Baltic macoma, Baltic clam or Baltic tellin, is a small saltwater clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Tellinidae ....
), (Mya arenaria) and (Mytilus edulis); the Sea snail
Sea snail
Sea snail is a common name for those snails that normally live in saltwater, marine gastropod molluscs....
(Littorina planaxis); the crab
Crab
True crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" , or where the reduced abdomen is entirely hidden under the thorax...
(Hemigrapsis oregonensis); the isopod (Sphaeroma quoyanum); the barnacle
Barnacle
A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile suspension feeders, and have...
s Balanus glandula
Balanus glandula
Balanus glandula is one of the most common barnacle species on the Pacific coast of North America, distributed from the U.S. state of Alaska to Bahía de San Quintín near San Quintín, Baja California. It is commonly found in intertidal waters on mussels, rocks and pier pilings.It is a moderate-sized...
and Balanus amphitrite
Balanus amphitrite
Balanus amphitrite is a species of acorn barnacle in the Balanidae family. Its common names include the striped barnacle, the purple acorn barnacle and Amphitrite's rock barnacle. It is found in warm and temperate waters worldwide....
; the nemertean Lineus ruber; the anemone
Anemone
Anemone , is a genus of about 120 species of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae in the north and south temperate zones...
s Diadumene leucolena and Haliplanella luciae.
Mammals visiting Richardson Bay include the Harbor Seal
Harbor Seal
The harbor seal , also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere...
, who hauls out on DeSilva Island and the Tiburon shore near the Richardson Bay Audubon Sanctuary headquarters. The endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse
The Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse , also known as the Red-bellied Harvest Mouse and some times called by Saltmarsh Harvest Mouse, is an endangered rodent endemic to the San Francisco Bay Area salt marshes in California. There are two distinct subspecies, both endangered and listed together on federal...
is also thought to be present.
Flora include intertidal and upland species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
. Probably the most notable feature is the extensive eelgrass
Zostera
Zostera is a small genus of widely distributed seagrass, commonly called marine eelgrass or simply eelgrass . The genus Zostera contains sixteen species.-Ecology:Zostera is found on sandy substrates or in estuaries submerged or partially floating...
population at the tideland perimeter of Richardson Bay. This eelgrass occurrence in Richardson Bay is considered one of the most sizeable stands in Northern California, and it is also currently undergoing restoration, leading to further extent of this habitat. There is also an extensive pickleweed
Pickleweed
Pickleweed is a common name used for two unrelated genera of flowering plants:*Batis, family Bataceae*Salicornia, family Amaranthaceae...
habitat at the western end of the bay, where many acres of mudflat areas are exposed to shorebirds at low tide at the efflux of Pickleweed Inlet
Pickleweed Inlet
Pickleweed Inlet is a small bay in Marin County, California, United States, located at . It discharges to the west side of Richardson Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay. The estuary contains mudflats used by various avafauna. There is a well-used hiking trail that runs along Picklewood...
. Upland plants found at the perimeter of Richardson Bay include toyon
Toyon
Heteromeles arbutifolia , and commonly known as Toyon, is a common perennial shrub native to California down to Baja California....
, coast live oak
Coast Live Oak
Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak, is an evergreen oak , native to the California Floristic Province. It grows west of the Sierra Nevada from Mendocino County, California, south to northern Baja California in Mexico. It is classified in the red oak section Quercus agrifolia, the Coast Live Oak,...
, California bay, and native California bunch grasses.
On November 7, 2007, there was a large oil spill
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
in the San Francisco Bay
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...
. This Cosco Busan oil spill was found to be lethal to herring fry in oiled versus non-oiled sites in Richardson Bay. This spill has greatly affected the organisms in the bay
Bay
A bay is an area of water mostly surrounded by land. Bays generally have calmer waters than the surrounding sea, due to the surrounding land blocking some waves and often reducing winds. Bays also exist as an inlet in a lake or pond. A large bay may be called a gulf, a sea, a sound, or a bight...
.
Modern history
Tiburon, California
Tiburon is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It occupies most of the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. The smaller city of Belvedere occupies the south-east part of the peninsula and is contiguous with Tiburon...
, Mill Valley
Mill Valley, California
Mill Valley is a city in Marin County, California, United States located about north of San Francisco via the Golden Gate Bridge. The population was 13,903 at the 2010 census.Mill Valley is located on the western and northern shores of Richardson Bay...
, Belvedere
Belvedere, California
Belvedere is an affluent city in Marin County, California, United States. Belvedere is located northeast of Sausalito, at an elevation of 36 feet...
and Sausalito
Sausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
have enacted strong shoreline development policies to protect the perimeter of Richardson Bay, even though considerable development has occurred. The Audubon Society manages the whole Richardson Bay Sanctuary subject to governance by the Joint Powers Agency of the four peripheral cities.
One parcel deeded from Reed to Rosie Verall, who worked for the Reed family, is now the core of the Audubon Richardson Bay Sanctuary. Verall donated this land of approximately 13 acres (5.3 ha) to be held in permanent trust as a wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
sanctuary. The Audubon Society purchased this upland parcel along with the entirety of the subtidal and intertidal lands of Richardson Bay in 1960. The Lyford House built in 1876 occupies the Verall parcel, even though the house was originally built at a different location in the vicinity known as Strawberry Point. The house is furnished in period style and is presently used by the Audubon Society for special functions and events.
Hydrology and boating data
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...
where the water depth becomes 20 feet (6 m), demarcated by a highly irregular boundary connecting the southern end of the Sausalito Marina
Marina
A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
with the southern tip of Belvedere
Belvedere, California
Belvedere is an affluent city in Marin County, California, United States. Belvedere is located northeast of Sausalito, at an elevation of 36 feet...
, sometimes called Peninsula Point. At this line of demarcation the depth increases rapidly on the San Francisco Bay side, becoming 100 feet (30 m) in depth almost immediately. This portion of San Francisco Bay, also known as Raccoon Strait
Raccoon Strait
The Raccoon Strait is a waterway of the San Francisco Bay between Angel Island and the Tiburon Peninsula, mainland Marin County, California.-History:From Angel Island California State Park in San Francisco Bay. Ref. California State Parks Angel Island....
, possesses highly turbulent waters. Boating in Richardson Bay is limited to small sailing craft and kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
s due to limited draft
Draft (hull)
The draft of a ship's hull is the vertical distance between the waterline and the bottom of the hull , with the thickness of the hull included; in the case of not being included the draft outline would be obtained...
available, and the bay is closed entirely for several months of the year to provide protection for the ecological system.
Richardson Bay receives inflow from numerous seasonal small unnamed streams and three major streams: Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio
Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio
Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is a year-round stream in southern Marin County, California, USA. This watercourse is also known as Corte Madera Creek, although the actual stream of that name flows into San Francisco Bay further north at Point San Quentin...
which receives the surface runoff
Surface runoff
Surface runoff is the water flow that occurs when soil is infiltrated to full capacity and excess water from rain, meltwater, or other sources flows over the land. This is a major component of the water cycle. Runoff that occurs on surfaces before reaching a channel is also called a nonpoint source...
from the steep southeast slopes of Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais
Mount Tamalpais is a peak in Marin County, California, United States, often considered symbolic of Marin County. Much of Mount Tamalpais is protected within public lands such as Mount Tamalpais State Park and the Mount Tamalpais Watershed.-Geography:...
; Pickleweed Inlet
Pickleweed Inlet
Pickleweed Inlet is a small bay in Marin County, California, United States, located at . It discharges to the west side of Richardson Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay. The estuary contains mudflats used by various avafauna. There is a well-used hiking trail that runs along Picklewood...
; and Coyote Creek (Marin County)
Coyote Creek (Marin County)
Coyote Creek is a stream in the Richardson Bay watershed, draining Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, California eastward into Richardson Bay, Marin County, California, United States. The stream originates on Coyote Ridge and flows 2.5 miles to the Bay at the south end of Bothin Marsh.-History:The...
, which receives the runoff from the slopes to the west of Richardson Bay. These streams empty into Richardson Bay from the northwest. Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio and Coyote Creek are intermittent in flow.
Richardson Bay Audubon Center
The National Aududon Society operates a nature centerNature center
A nature center is an organization with a visitor center or interpretive center designed to educate people about nature and the environment. Usually located within a protected open space, nature centers often have trails through their property. Some are located within a state or city park, and...
in Tiburon, California
Tiburon, California
Tiburon is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It occupies most of the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. The smaller city of Belvedere occupies the south-east part of the peninsula and is contiguous with Tiburon...
that offers adult and children's nature programs, including summer camp, school science programs, birthday and family events, lectures, guided walks, environmental education workshops, Bay Shore Studies docent programs and volunteer projects.
See also
- Arroyo Corte Madera del PresidioArroyo Corte Madera del PresidioArroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is a year-round stream in southern Marin County, California, USA. This watercourse is also known as Corte Madera Creek, although the actual stream of that name flows into San Francisco Bay further north at Point San Quentin...
- Coyote CreekCoyote Creek (Marin County)Coyote Creek is a stream in the Richardson Bay watershed, draining Tamalpais-Homestead Valley, California eastward into Richardson Bay, Marin County, California, United States. The stream originates on Coyote Ridge and flows 2.5 miles to the Bay at the south end of Bothin Marsh.-History:The...
- Mill CreekMill Creek (Marin County)Mill Creek is a stream in Marin County, California that is tributary to Richardson Bay. It discharges to Bothin Marsh within a northern arm of Richardson Bay. The stream is also known by the earlier name Old Mill Creek. The upper portions of the stream are associated with the Dipsea...
- Ring Mountain
- Strawberry LagoonStrawberry LagoonStrawberry Lagoon is an inlet within Richardson Bay, Marin County, California, USA. This location, particularly on Strawberry Spit, is a winter haul-out area for the Harbor Seal...
External links
- Richardson Bay Audubon Center
- Richardson Bay Boating and Map Information
- Richardson Bay Aerial Photo from Google Maps
- Richardson Bay Topographic Map from TopoQuest
- Discussion of the term Important Bird Area
- San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission Richardson Bay Special Area Plan