"
But the "Harbor of San Francisco," as indicated by Cabrera Bueno, lay
quite outside the Golden Gate, in the curve between Point San Pedro on
the south, and Point Reyes on the north. The existence of the Golden
Gate, and the landlocked waters within, forming what is now known as
San Francisco Bay, was not suspected by any of the early explorers.
The high coast line, the rolling breakers, and, perhaps, the banks of
fog, had hidden the Golden Gate and the bay from Cabrillo, Drake, and
Vizcaino alike. By chance a few members of Portola's otherwise
unfortunate expedition discovered the glorious harbor. Some of the
soldiers, led by an officer named Ortega, wandered out on the Sierra
Morena, east of Point San Pedro. When they reached the summit and
looked eastward, an entirely new prospect was spread out before them.
From the foothills of these mountains, they saw a great arm of the
ocean--"a mediterranean sea," they termed it, according to Mr. Doyle's
account, "with a fair and extensive valley bordering it, rich and
fertile--a paradise compared with the country they had been passing
over." They rushed back to the seashore, waving their hats and
shouting.
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