Suisun Bay
The Suisun Bay [ suː-suːn ] is a shallow tidal body of water in California , which is formed by the confluence of the Sacramento River and the San Joaquin River and which lies between the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and the Carquinez Strait . The Suisun Marsh to the north of the bay is the largest marshland in California.
The bay was named in 1811 after the Suisunes , an Indian tribe from this area. The word Suisun comes from the Patwin language , the name is also reflected in Suisun City and Suisun Valley .
Geographical location
Suisun Bay is formed by the confluence of the Sacramento Rivers and the San Joaquin Rivers , about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco . The outflow to the west is the Carquinez Strait , the bay is crossed at its west end by the Benicia – Martinez Bridge . It is about 15 miles long. Solano County is on the north bank , Contra Costa County begins on the south bank .
Suisun March
The Suisun Marsh is the largest remaining marshland on the west coast of the United States . With a size of 470 square kilometers, which corresponds to about ten percent of the remaining marshland in California, it is an important part of the ecosystem of the San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. It is an important resting and feeding area for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway , an important route for migratory birds on the west coast.
It is also the habitat of 220 species of birds , 16 different species of reptiles and more than 40 species of fish - especially the protected Delta Smelt . The marsh supports 80% of the commercial salmon fishery in California, as the elevator areas in the marsh allow fish to grow up twice as fast as, for example, in the upper reaches of the Sacramento River.
The extensive areas of the marshland are ideal for game viewing , hiking and canoeing .
Military use
The Military Ocean Terminal Concord , an active military port of the United States Navy, is located on Suisun Bay .
Port Chicago Disaster
During the Second World War , Port Chicago on the south side of the bay was the most important supply base for the Pacific War . On July 17, 1944, the Port Chicago disaster occurred while ammunition was being loaded there, killing 320 sailors and civilians. It was the worst US loss of life in World War II on its own soil. The site of the explosion is now designated as the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial .
Mothball Fleet
Suisun Bay was known for its Mothball Fleet . Numerous decommissioned United States Navy warships, some from World War II , were anchored here. The maximum number was around 340 ships.
In the 1990s, the legendary Hughes Glomar Explorer , which tried the CIA's Azorian project, tried the K-129 , a sunken Soviet missile submarine of the Gulf II class , from a depth of 4900 m off Hawaii was also located here to lift. The USS Iowa (BB-61) was also here for around ten years before it was prepared as a museum ship and is on display in Los Angeles.
After the US Congress had decided that all warships that were no longer operational would have to be dismantled and scrapped by 2006, it did not provide any funds for this. This led to more and more environmental problems in Suisun Bay, as the old ships gave off large amounts of toxic, lead-containing paint and some of them were now so badly rusted that they could not be safely transported to a scrapping facility. This increased the risk of ships sinking, releasing large amounts of PCB , heavy fuel oil and other pollutants in the bay.
In 2009, the local environmental group Baykeeper , supported by other nature conservation organizations, filed a lawsuit against the federal government. and reached a court settlement. By the summer of 2017, all 57 remaining ships were removed from the bay, some under their own power, some pulled by tugs and some on floating docks, and transported to a company in Texas specializing in environmentally friendly disposal for scrapping. The removal took about seven years.
The Saisun Bay is still registered as a berth for the reserve fleet of the Navy, but there are always only individual ships that meet the current environmental regulations.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Suisun Bay in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- ↑ Suisun Marsh Facts ( Memento of the original from September 20, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Environmental Services Office, Department of Water Resources, State of California.
- ↑ a b KQED: Rusty Navy: The Bay Area's 'Mothball Fleet' Enters a New Era . 17th August 2017
- ↑ Environmental risks keep 'mothball fleets' of retired warships at anchor
- ↑ a b ABC: Last mothball fleet vessel to leave Suisun Bay , August 4, 2017
Coordinates: 38 ° 4 ′ N , 122 ° 2 ′ W