Bolinas Lagoon is a tidal

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

, approximately in area, located in the

West Marin West Marin is the largest region of Marin County, California, which is also rural. West Marin comprises the westernmost towns of Point Reyes Station, Olema, Stinson Beach, Bolinas, Tomales, Dillon Beach, and Inverness. West Marin is genera ...

region of

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, adjacent to the town of

Bolinas Bolinas is an unincorporated coastal community and census-designated place in Marin County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 1,483. It is located on the California coast, approximately (straight line dis ...

. It is a part of the

Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary The Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (formerly Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary) protects the wildlife, habitats, and cultural resources of one of the most diverse and bountiful marine environments in the world, an ar ...

. In 1974, Aubrey Neasham and William Pritchard wrote in support of Bolinas Lagoon as Drake's

New Albion New Albion, also known as ''Nova Albion'' (in reference to Albion, an archaic name for Great Britain), was the name of the continental area north of Mexico claimed by Sir Francis Drake for Kingdom of England, England when he landed on the Nort ...

landing site. The lagoon is a back bay of

Bolinas Bay Bolinas Bay is a small bay, approximately 5 miles (8 km) long, on the Pacific coast of California in the United States. It is in Marin County, north of the Golden Gate, approximately 15 miles (25 km) northwest of San Francisco. The town ...

on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

coast approximately 15 mi (25 km) northwest of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. The trough in which the lagoon sits was formed by the

San Andreas Fault The San Andreas Fault is a continental Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, right-lateral strike-slip transform fault that extends roughly through the U.S. state of California. It forms part of the tectonics, tectonic boundary between the Paci ...

, which runs directly through it. The lagoon is separated from the main bay by a

bay mouth bar In Russian geomorphology, a peresyp (), also known as a bay-mouth bar is a narrow sandbar that rises above the water level (like a spit) and separates a liman or a lagoon from the sea. Unlike tombolo bars, a ''peresyp'' seldom forms a contiguou ...

, and the sand bar that encloses the lagoon is full of beachgoers and surfers. The

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

Stinson Beach Stinson Beach is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Marin County, California, on the west coast of the United States. Stinson Beach is located east-southeast of Bolinas, right across the channel that terminates the ...

sits on the bar. State Route 1, the Shoreline Highway, runs along the eastern edge of the lagoon. Bolinas Lagoon is on the

list of wetlands of international importance Ramsar sites are protected under by the Ramsar Convention, an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and re ...

as defined by the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands. Portions of the lagoon are included in Marin County's Bolinas Lagoon Open Space Preserve, and the western shore is part of the

Golden Gate National Recreation Area The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is a U.S. National Recreation Area protecting of ecologically and historically significant landscapes surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area. Much of the park is land formerly used by the Unite ...

. The lagoon has a watershed; streams and canyons feeding into it include Audubon Canyon,

McKinnan Gulch McKinnan Gulch is a valley in Marin County, California, United States. It contains a small stream which descends the western slope of the Bolinas Ridge and drains into Bolinas Lagoon. Near the head of the gulch is an ore vein (reported in 1955) c ...

Morses Gulch Morses Gulch is a coastal valley in Marin County, California, United States. It descends the western slope of Bolinas Ridge and drains into Bolinas Lagoon.Pike County Gulch Pike County Gulch is a coastal valley in Marin County, California, United States, which is associated with a small stream. It is located between Wilkins Gulch (to the northwest) and Audubon Canyon (to the southeast). The stream descends the we ...

Stinson Gulch Stinson Gulch is a valley in Marin County, California, United States which is associated with a small stream. The stream descends the western slope of the Bolinas Ridge, crosses State Route 1 just north of Stinson Beach, California, and drains ...

, Volunteer Canyon, and

Wilkins Gulch Wilkins Gulch is a valley in western Marin County, California, United States, located northwest of Pike County Gulch. It is associated with a small stream. The stream descends the western slope of Bolinas Ridge, crosses State Route 1, and dra ...

Kent Island Kent Island is the largest island in the Chesapeake Bay and a historic place in Maryland. To the east, a narrow channel known as the Kent Narrows barely separates the island from the Delmarva Peninsula, and on the other side, the island is sep ...

is located in the lagoon. Bolinas Houses On Wharf Road Along The Bolinas Lagoon 1904

Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area Duxbury Reef State Marine Conservation Area (SMCA) is a marine protected area located about 1 mile (2 km) west of Bolinas in Marin County on California’s north central coast. This marine protected area covers . Duxbury Reef SMCA prohibit ...

lies offshore from Bolinas. Like an underwater park, this protected marine area helps conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems. Bolinas California aerial view

References

;Notes

External links

* Estuaries of California Lagoons of Marin County, California Golden Gate National Recreation Area Lagoons of California Ramsar sites in the United States West Marin Wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area Estuaries of Marin County, California {{MarinCountyCA-geo-stub

See also

References

External links