Читать книгу Afoot and Afield: San Francisco Bay Area. A Comprehensive Hiking Guide онлайн

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Angel Island, the largest island in San Francisco Bay, has played a role in the area’s history for thousands of years. Coast Miwok Indians used the island as a fishing and hunting site. In August 1775, the first European to enter the bay, Juan Manuel de Ayala, anchored his ship San Carlos in a cove on the island’s northwest side that now bears his name.

During both world wars, Angel Island served the U.S. military as an embarkation/debarkation point and also as a prison for enemy aliens and prisoners of war. Following World War II, the island was declared surplus property, and a campaign was started to make it a state park. Mt. Caroline Livermore, the island’s 781-foot high point, honors a leading Marin County conservationist who spearheaded the campaign.

A little-known aspect of the island is its history as a detention center for immigrants, 97 percent of them Chinese, from 1910 to 1940. The detainees, who were held from two weeks to six months, faced tough questioning about their family and village background. Thanks to the efforts of the late Paul Chow, head of the foundation to restore Angel Island, the Immigration Station on the island’s northeast side is now a museum.