Mare pacificum: the Peaceful Sea

The largest body of water in Golden Gate Park also happens to be the largest body of water in the world. Spanning from the north to the south pole, washing onto the Eastern shores of Asia and Australia and the western shores of the Americas, the Pacific Ocean covers about 32% of the Earth's total surface area.



San Francisco is so infrequently thought of as a "beach town" -- it is much more often associated with its famous Bay -- and yet, on a sunny day, Ocean Beach is absolutely, positively the place to be. I enjoyed the 80 degree temperatures here on Saturday, bicycling through the park to get here. I seldom appreciate that I live only three miles from the beach.

At Ocean Beach, you can see surfers, sailors, kite fliers, dog walkers, sand castlers and sea shell collectors. It is a place where it would be difficult to feel unhappy.

Ocean Beach is the frosting on the cake of Golden Gate Park.