Which bay in California is spanned at its entrance by the Golden Gate Bridge?

The California bay spanned at its entrance by the Golden Gate Bridge is San Francisco Bay.

San Francisco Bay is a large estuary on California’s central coast. Its entrance, known as the Golden Gate, connects the bay with the Pacific Ocean and is crossed by the Golden Gate Bridge, whose orange towers have become a global symbol of San Francisco.

The bay is part of a larger estuarine system that includes San Pablo Bay and Suisun Bay. Freshwater from rivers, especially the Sacramento and San Joaquin, mixes with Pacific seawater before flowing through the Golden Gate.

A frequent mix-up is Monterey Bay, another major California bay south of San Francisco. The Golden Gate Bridge does not span all of San Francisco Bay; it crosses only the narrow entrance between San Francisco and Marin County.