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Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island is located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California. It was formerly used as a military stockade and later as a maximum security prison. Today, the island is a historic site supervised by the National Park Service as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and is open to tours. Visitors can reach the island by ferry ride from Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. It is listed as a National Historic Landmark. The United States Census Bureau defines the island as Block 1067, Block Group 1, Census Tract 179.02 of San Francisco County, California. The official land area is 76,316 square meters (0.0763 kmē, 0.0295 square mile, or 18.86 acres). There was no population on the island as of the 2000 census.
The first European to discover the island was Juan de Ayala who named it La Isla de los Alcatraces, which translates to "Island of the Pelicans." The name "Alcatraz" is an Americanization of the original Spanish.
It is home to the now abandoned prison, the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States, early military fortifications, and natural features such as rock pools, a seabird colony (mostly Western Gulls, cormorants, gannets and egrets), and unique views of the coastline. As well, it is the starting point of the annual Escape from Alcatraz triathlon.
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