The Oakland Estuary is the body of water separating the cities of Oakland

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

 and Alameda

Alameda, California

Alameda is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is located on Alameda Island and Bay Farm Island, and is adjacent to Oakland in the San Francisco Bay. The Bay Farm Island portion of the city is adjacent to the Oakland International Airport. At the 2010 census, the city had a...

, 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...

, in the San Francisco Bay Area

San 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...

. On its western end it connects to 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...

, while its eastern end connects to San Leandro Bay

San Leandro Bay

San Leandro Bay is a body of water in the San Francisco Bay. It is connected to the Oakland Estuary today, but was originally separated by land which formerly connected Alameda with Oakland. It is located along the east of the Oakland International Airport and Bay Farm Island. The principal...

.

Crossings

The Estuary is spanned by two underwater tubes and three bridges. They are, from west to east:

• Webster Street Tube
• Posey Tube
• Park Street Bridge
  Park Street Bridge
  The Park Street Bridge is a small drawbridge that crosses the Oakland Estuary in the San Francisco Bay Area. It links the cities of Oakland and Alameda. Because the Port of Oakland no longer uses its facilities south of Jack London Square, the drawbridge is rarely opened...
  
  
• Fruitvale Bridge
  Fruitvale Bridge
  The Fruitvale Bridge is a small drawbridge that crosses the Oakland Estuary. It links the cities of Oakland and Alameda.-Rail Bridge:Immediately adjacent to the Miller-Sweeney road bridge is an out-of service rail bridge...
  
  
• High Street Bridge

‎

Early history

Although the estuary was used by Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 tribes inhabiting the local area since about 4000 BC, the earliest recorded history of the Oakland Estuary dates primarily from events extending back to the 19th century, as detailed in a research study conducted by Earth Metrics for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.(Earth Metrics, 1990)(Shreffler, 1994) The Oakland Estuary and tributary stream

Stream

A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...

 channels were used for shipping transport regularly by the 1850s; early maritime commerce featured movement of lumber

Lumber

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....

 and cattle

Cattle

Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...

 hides. At this time land west of Lake Merritt Slough consisted of undeveloped 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....

lands. In 1853 the first dredging project of this estuary was initiated to enable 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...

 service to San Francisco. By the late 19th century further landside development occurred featuring wharf expansions, railroad service and 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...

. By the early 20th century the industrial pace accelerated and brought numerous industries to the Oakland Estuary, including a number of uses which contributed to sediment contamination

Soil contamination

Soil contamination or soil pollution is caused by the presence of xenobiotic chemicals or other alteration in the natural soil environment....

 of the estuary, such as paint manufacturing, pesticide

Pesticide

Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...

 storage, coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

 distillation, foundry

Foundry

A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...

 uses and petroleum refineries. It is also home to local rowing team The Oakland Strokes.

Land Development Activity

In recent years, much public attention has been focused on proposed residential real estate development activity along Oakland's waterfront areas. A key area of land speculation and planning attention is a strip of land from Oak Street to 9th Avenue, where a developer has proposed a large complex with several hundred housing units.

See also