Locale: California
A shallow, productive estuary, San Francisco Bay connects the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers with the Pacific Ocean. Gathering the rainfall and snowmelt from an enormous watershed, these outflows drain approximately 40% of California into the bay, which then flows out (under the Golden Gate Bridge) into the Pacific Ocean. It's the largest Pacific estuary in the Americas and, despite significant mining- and construction-related damage over the past century, it remains a rich part of the coast's ecosystem.
During the last ice age, the basin was actually above sea-level. It was a large valley, filled with small hills similar to those found along the coast of California today. When the sheets of ice melted, the sea level rose approximately 300 feet, filled the valley, turned it into a bay, and the small hills became islands.
Construction: This piece comes ready to hang, pre-framed in a custom, solid-wood frame. Its rich contours are carefully crafted from laser-cut layers of Baltic birch, which are hand colored and glued together with the intent that each becomes a prized conversational piece and treasured heirloom.
It was designed in the United States, crafted overseas, and imported
Points of Interest: San Francisco, Redwood City, Palo Alto, Oakland, Berkeley, Vallejo, San Rafael Bay, San Pablo Bay, Grizzly Bay, and more