Carquinez Strait

Carquinez Strait
Spanish: Estrecho de Carquinez
Looking east, the Carquinez Bridge in the foreground and the Benicia–Martinez Bridge in the background
Carquinez Strait
Location	Bay Area, Northern California
Coordinates	38°03′33″N 122°12′45″W / 38.05918°N 122.21260°W / 38.05918; -122.21260
Etymology	The Karkin people
River sources	Sacramento River, San Joaquin River
Primary outflows	San Pablo Bay, San Francisco Bay
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	8 miles (13 km)
Settlements	Benicia, Crockett, Martinez, Vallejo

The Carquinez Strait (/kɑːrˈkiːnəs/; Spanish: Estrecho de Carquinez)^[1][2] is a narrow tidal strait located in the Bay Area of Northern California, United States. It is part of the tidal estuary of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin rivers as they drain into the San Francisco Bay. The strait is eight miles (13 km) long and connects Suisun Bay, which receives the waters of the combined rivers, with San Pablo Bay, a northern extension of the San Francisco Bay.

The strait formed in prehistoric times, near the close of one of the past ice ages, when the Central Valley was a vast inland lake. Melting ice from the Sierra Nevada raised the water level while seismic activity created a new outlet to the Pacific Ocean, draining the lake into the ocean and exposing the valley floors.