Golden Gate Bridge - SFO

Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California 

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. 

Technically, the 'gate' is defined by the headlands of the San Francisco Peninsula and the Marin Peninsula, while the 'strait' is the water flowing in between.
General Facts to Remember : These are a list of the most basic facts on the Golden Gate Bridge. If you only have limited time to learn a few details, these are certainly the ones to know.

• The Golden Gate Bridge crosses the Golden Gate, a narrow waterway that connects the Pacific Ocean to the San Francisco Bay.
• Cool nights and warm days generate the foggy conditions so common over the Golden Gate in the mornings.
• From the day it first opened until today, the Golden Gate is a toll bridge.
• Actual paint color of the Golden Gate Bridge is Dulux International Orange.
• Official ground breaking began on February 26, 1933.
• The bridge officially opened for business on May 26, 1937.

 A few Golden Gate Bridge facts to illustrate its size:

• Total length: Including approaches, 1.7 miles (8,981 feet or 2,737 m)
• Middle span: 4,200 feet (1,966 m).
• Width: 90 feet (27 m)
• Clearance above the high water (average): 220 feet (67 m)
• Total weight when built: 894,500 tons (811,500,000 kg)
• Total weight today: 887,000 tons (804,700,000 kg). Weight reduced because of new decking material.

Cable Facts:

• Two main cables pass over the tops of the main towers and are secured in concrete anchorages at each end. Each cable is made of 27,572 strands of wire. There are 80,000 miles (129,000 km) of wire in the two main cables, and it took over six months to spin them.
• Cable diameter (including wrapping): 36 3/8 inches (0.92 m)
• Cable length: 7,260 feet (2,332 m)

Towers:

• 746 feet (227 m) above the water
• 500 feet (152 m) above the roadway
• Each leg is 33 x 54 feet (10 x 16 m)
• Towers weigh 44,000 tons each (40,200,000 kg).
• There are about 600,000 rivets in EACH tower.

Steel Facts: Made in New Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania and shipped through the Panama Canal. Total weight of steel: 83,000 tons (75,293,000 kg)

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