The Bay of San Francisco.

The article presents discussion of the history of San Francisco Bay, California during the 18th-century. The author provides historical documentation describing the Spanish expedition of Gaspar de Portolà in 1769 and their initial discovery of the region. The original Spanish document is reproduced with an English translation and a map of the bay. Details are provided reviewing the itinerary of the expedition. Comments are also given regarding the implications of the document on the historiography of the region.