Lake Merced

Lake Merced
Spanish: Laguna de Merced
Lake Merced Show map of California Lake Merced Show map of the United States
Location	San Francisco, California
Coordinates	37°43′12″N 122°29′42″W / 37.72°N 122.495°W / 37.72; -122.495
Type	Reservoir
Primary inflows	Spring
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	650 acres (260 ha)
Surface elevation	23 ft (7 m)
References	U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Lake Merced
Type	Municipal (San Francisco)
Location	San Francisco
Area	614 acres (2.48 km2; 0.96 sq mi)
Created	1940s
Status	Open all year

Lake Merced (Spanish: Laguna de Merced) is a freshwater lake in the southwest corner of San Francisco, in the U.S. state of California. It is surrounded by three golf courses (the private Olympic Club and San Francisco Golf Club, and the public TPC Harding Park), as well as residential areas, Lowell High School, San Francisco State University, Lakeshore Alternative Elementary School, Stonestown Galleria, Fort Funston and the Pacific Ocean. The San Francisco Police Department shooting range, as well as a now closed skeet shooting club and the city's National Guard armory are also in the area. The lake was also the home of the Lake Merced Sailing Club, now closed, which provided training and racing for local sailors. Currently there is a paddling program operated by San Francisco State University .^[1] The lake is home of the Pacific Rowing Club and St. Ignatius College Prep Rowing Team, both competitive rowing programs for San Francisco high school students.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory for Lake Merced based on levels of mercury found in fish caught from this water body.^[2]