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Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly

The Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly is one of San Francisco's many diverse species.

Biodiversity in San Francisco

Two hundred years ago, you could start walking from any point in San Francisco, and within 30 minutes you would have encountered an extraordinary variety of habitats and wildlife. From Ocean Beach to North Beach, the tip of the peninsula was blanketed by great sand dunes with a patchwork of wildflowers and bunchgrasses that provided food for elk, jackrabbits, and other creatures. San Francisco's grassy hilltops were once surrounded by a mosaic of ancient oak and bay laurel woodlands, wet meadows, and coastal chaparral. You would not have needed to carry water on your walk, for every corner of "town" offered a source of clear, sweet water from creeks, ponds, and springs. Creeks flowed into the bay, where unimaginably rich salt marshes provided a year-round abundance of food for people and wildlife alike.

This incredible biodiversity has not disappeared completely. You can still climb the wildflower-studded slopes of McLaren Park and Bernal Hill. You can hear birds call to one another in the coastal scrub of Mount Davidson and Twin Peaks. You can admire hundred-year old oak trees in Golden Gate Park and Buena Vista Park. You can hear the rushing water of Islais Creek in Glen Canyon and Lobos Creek in the Presidio.

There are still remnants of grasslands, coast scrub, oak woodlands, riparian areas, and salt marshes in natural areas throughout San Francisco. And with a little imagination, you can still enjoy a bit of wildness in the city we all love.

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