City of Sausalito | |
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City | |
Sausalito combines hillside with shoreline, as seen in this view from Bridgeway, the city's central street.
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Location in Marin County and the state of California |
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Location in the United States | |
Coordinates: 37°51′33″N 122°29′07″W / 37.85917°N 122.48528°WCoordinates: 37°51′33″N 122°29′07″W / 37.85917°N 122.48528°W | |
Country | United States |
State | California |
County | Marin |
Incorporated | September 4, 1893 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Thomas Theodores |
• State Senator | Mike McGuire (D) |
• Assemblymember | Marc Levine (D) |
• U. S. Rep. | Jared Huffman (D) |
• Supervisor | District 3 Charles McGlashan |
Area | |
• Total | 2.257 sq mi (5.846 km2) |
• Land | 1.771 sq mi (4.586 km2) |
• Water | 0.486 sq mi (1.259 km2) 21.54% |
Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) |
Population (April 1, 2010) | |
• Total | 7,061 |
• Estimate (2013) | 7,099 |
• Density | 3,100/sq mi (1,200/km2) |
Time zone | Pacific Time Zone (UTC−8) |
• Summer (DST) | PDT (UTC−7) |
ZIP codes | 94965, 94966 |
Area codes | 415/628 |
FIPS code | 06-70364 |
GNIS feature IDs | 277597, 2411834 |
Website | www |
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city in Marin County, California. Sausalito is 8 miles (13 km) south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m). The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to the building of that bridge served as a terminus for rail, car, and ferry traffic. Developed rapidly as a shipbuilding center in World War II, the city's industrial character gave way in postwar years to a reputation as a wealthy and artistic enclave, a picturesque residential community (incorporating large numbers of houseboats), and a tourist destination. It is adjacent to, and largely bounded by, the protected spaces of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
The name of Sausalito comes from Spanish sauzalito, meaning "small willow grove", from sauce "willow" + collective derivative -al meaning "place of abundance" + diminutive suffix -ito; with orthographic corruption from z to s due to seseo; early variants of the name were Saucelito, San Salita, San Saulito, San Salito, Sancolito, Sancilito, Sousolito, Sousalita, Sousilito, Sausilito, and Sauz Saulita.
It is sometimes claimed that Sausalito was named for the district in Valparaíso, Chile where the bandit Joaquín Murrieta was born. Murrieta was the leader of bandits who settled at the northern end of the future Golden Gate bridge after being banned from San Francisco in the bandit wars. However, this theory cannot be true because Murrieta was from Mexico, not Chile, and because he did not arrive in California until the Gold Rush around 1849. The Rancho Saucelito had already been granted to William Richardson in 1838.
Located at 37°51′33″N 122°29′07″W / 37.85917°N 122.48528°W, Sausalito encompasses both steep, wooded hillside and shoreline tidal flats. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.2 square miles (5.7 km2). Notably, only 1.8 square miles (4.7 km2) of it is land. A full 21.54% of the city (0.5 square miles, or 1.3 km²) is under water, and has been so since its founding in 1868. Prominent geographic features associated with Sausalito include Richardson Bay and Pine Point.