FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Geography Fun Trivia » Geography » California » San Francisco
Trivia Questions and Answers
photo of San Francisco

70 San Francisco Trivia Questions, Answers, and Fun Facts

How much do you know about San Francisco? This category is for trivia questions and answers related to San Francisco (Geography). Each one is filled with fun facts and interesting information.
Related Questions & Answers:   San Francisco 49ers (NFL Teams)   San Francisco Giants (MLB Teams)  
 Search in topic:
1 The city of San Francisco was reputedly built on seven hills. What hill is the highest point in the city?
Answer: Mount Davidson

Mount Davidson is located near the center of San Francisco. It is the highest natural point at 928 feet. It is one of the original seven hills on which the city was built.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
2 At Fisherman's Wharf, there is a pier that is popular with both tourists and sea lions. Which pier is it?
Answer: Pier 39

There are many interesting attractions at Fisherman's Wharf, including the Maritime Museum and the Historic Ships Pier. There is even a merry-go-round here
    Your options: [ Pier 38 ] [ Pier 39 ] [ Pier 37 ] [ Pier 36 ]
  From Quiz: San Francisco - My Favourite City!
3 Which San Francisco street does not run diagonally relative to other streets?
Answer: Sacramento

Sacramento runs east to west and is parallel to other streets in its area. Market, of course, is the most obvious diagonal street, parallel only to most streets in the SoMA (South of Market) area.
    Your options: [ Market ] [ Sacramento ] [ The Embarcadero ] [ Columbus ]
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
4 What is the name of the tower shaped like a fire-hose nozzle that sits at the top of Telegraph Hill?
Answer: Coit Tower

Mrs. Lilie Coit left funds for this tower to be built in thanks for the firefighters who worked valiantly to save structures following the devastating earthquake in 1906.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
5 San Francisco county and city are located on the San Francisco Peninsula. What area of the peninsula is the city actually located on?
Answer: North

The city and county of San Francisco are located on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula. The city is between the San Francisco Bay area and the Pacific Ocean.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
6 Which area was popular in the flower-power era of the 1960's?
Answer: Haight-Ashbury

Haight-Ashbury was a popular area in the 1960's and it seems that the flower-power vibe is still felt there now.
    Your options: [ Chinatown ] [ Haight-Ashbury ] [ SoMa ] [ Nob Hill ]
  From Quiz: San Francisco - My Favourite City!
7 What is bounded by Bay, Webster, Chestnut, and Laguna streets?
Answer: Moscone Recreation Center
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
8 What is the other, lesser known name given to the neighborhood known as the Castro District?
Answer: Eureka Valley

The official name for the neighborhood is Eureka Valley; however, the core shopping and entertainment area on Castro Street, as well as the wonderful Castro Theatre, have made "The Castro" the common reference to this gentrified area of the city.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
9 What bridge connecting the East Bay with the San Francisco Peninsula is seven miles long?
Answer: San Mateo Bridge

The San Mateo Bridge connects Hayward in the East Bay to San Mateo on the Peninsula. Not an easy bridge to cross during rush hour!
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
10 San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937. What body of water does this landmark span?
Answer: Golden Gate Strait

The Golden Gate Bridge is about 1.7 miles in length. The Golden Gate Strait connects the waters of the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean at the tip of the peninsulas near San Francisco.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
11 What district is the northernmost?
Answer: Cow Hollow

Cow Hollow is the most northern district of these choices, location just north of Pacific Heights. You'll find the Palace of Fine Arts, the Presidio, and other locales, near this district.
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
12 In what city can you find Mission San Jose, one of the 21 missions founded by the Spanish during California's early history?
Answer: Fremont

Mission San Jose is actually in Fremont - not San Jose (that would be too obvious!).
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
13 What island is a part of San Francisco, and was once a naval base, the location of a world's fair, a residential area and a locale for the filming industry?
Answer: Treasure Island

Treasure Island is named after the novel "Treasure Island" by Robert Louis Stevenson. It is accessible from San Francisco by the Oakland Bay Bridge. The 1939-1940 Golden Gate International Exposition was held on the island. The island is owned by the city of San Francisco.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
14 What is the name of the man made island that the Bay Bridge passes by on its way from San Francisco to Oakland?
Answer: Treasure Island

Treasure Island is situated in the top of San Francisco Bay between San Francisco itself and Oakland. It used to be a military base and the majority of the island has been closed to the public for over 60 years.
  From Quiz: San Francisco - My Favourite City!
15 Which district is easternmost?
Answer: Bayview

Close call, but Bayview is slightly more eastern than Potrero Hill. Forest Hill and the Sunset are in western parts of the city.
    Your options: [ Sunset ] [ Bayview ] [ Forest Hill ] [ Potrero Hill ]
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
16 This street cuts an east/west diagonal across the city and can be considered its main business street.
Answer: Market

Market Street runs from the Bay at the Ferry Building to the foot of Twin Peaks, where it becomes Portola.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
17 What is the other name of Interstate 880 which runs through most of the East Bay, from Oakland to San Jose?
Answer: Nimitz Freeway

Locals call this freeway the 'Nasty Nimitz' during rush hour.
    Your options: [ Lawrence Expressway ] [ MacArthur Freeway ] [ Nimitz Freeway ] [ Montague Expressway ]
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
18 On Mount Sutro there is a forest named Sutro Forest. What kind of trees were originally planted there in 1886 by Adolph Sutro? (About 80% of the trees there are this type.)
Answer: Eucalyptus trees

The Sutro Forest is primarily owned by the University of California at San Francisco. The forest is near the Sunset District. Richard Brandi wrote about the forest area in his work titled "Farms, Fire, Forest". Adolph Sutro planted Blue Gum Eucalyptus trees on Mount Parnassus, which later became Mount Sutro. Because the trees were planted in the year 1886, many of the trees have grown to 100 feet tall.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
19 Coit Tower, at the top of Telegraph Hill, is said to resemble what?
Answer: A fire hose nozzle

Coit Tower is one of the most famous views of San Francisco, built in memory of fire fighters who worked during the earthquake of 1906. It is a white building reminiscent of the Tower of Pisa in Italy. If you climb to the top, you can look forward to wonderful views over San Francisco and the Bay.
  From Quiz: San Francisco - My Favourite City!
20 Which district is westernmost?
Answer: Merced Heights

Merced Heights is located in between the Stonestown and Ingleside districts of San Francisco, not far from Lake Merced, San Francisco State University, and Junipero Serra Blvd. St. Francis Wood is north of Merced Heights, near Mt. Davidson. Telegraph Hill is located in the north-eastern part of the city, where the famous Coit Tower stands.
    Your options: [ St. Francis Wood ] [ Merced Heights ] [ Haight-Ashbury ] [ Telegraph Hill ]
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
21 What is the old army base near the Golden Gate Bridge, with lots of beautiful woods and old houses/barracks called?
Answer: The Presidio

The Presidio is now managed by a trust and will soon be home to George Lucas' studios.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
22 In what city can you find Jack London Square?
Answer: Oakland

Jack London Square can be found on along Oakland's waterfront.
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
23 Strawberry Hill is found on an island in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. It is located in the middle of which lake?
Answer: Stow Lake

Strawberry Hill is located in the middle of Stow Lake in the Golden Gate Park. There is a panoramic view of San Francisco from the 420 foot island hill. A Japanese tea garden and a Chinese peace pagoda are located near the lake.
    Your options: [ South Lake ] [ Stow Lake ] [ North Lake ] [ Mountain Lake ]
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
24 Which district is southernmost?
Answer: Excelsior

The Excelsior district, located right in the center of the lower parts of San Francisco, is home to such locales as Crocker-Amazon Playground.
    Your options: [ Twin Peaks ] [ Excelsior ] [ West Portal ] [ Potrero Hill ]
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
25 What is the official name of the often-maligned public transportation system that serves the City of San Francisco with light rail, buses and cable cars?
Answer: San Francisco Municipal Railway

The San Francisco Municipal Railway, commonly referred to as Muni, offers an unlimited ride adult monthly pass for only $45, a huge savings over comparable system wide passes.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
26 Where does Alameda County, one of several counties located in the East Bay, hold its annual county fair?
Answer: Pleasanton

Even though Oakland is the county seat of Alameda County, the Alameda County Fair is held in Pleasanton.
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
27 Lombard Street on Russian Hill is famous for what aspect of the road?
Answer: Its crookedness

Lombard Street is famed for its crooked design which zigzags down the street. Its origins lie in the mind of a property owner who was concerned by the 27 degree gradient which made walking or driving on the road difficult. Travelling down the one-block length of Lombard Street requires a driver to negotiate eight hairpin bends.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
28 In 1775, Juan Manuel de Ayala discovered 'La Isla de los Alcatraces'('Alcatraz Island'), what does this translate to in English?
Answer: Island of the Pelicans

'Alcatraz', was so named because of all of the pelicans that lived there. It had many famous inmates during its short term as a prison, including Al Capone and Robert Stroud ('The Bird-man of Alcatraz'). If you do the tour, you can ask to be locked in a cell to get a feel of what it was like for the inmates.
  From Quiz: San Francisco - My Favourite City!
29 Beginning around Gough Street, Geary intersects into Peter Yorke and _______.
Answer: Starr King

Taking Peter Yorke will lead to Post, while Starr King will lead to O'Farrell.
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
30 Where might you expect to see Michael Tilson Thomas conducting Copland?
Answer: Davies Symphony Hall

Davies Symphony Hall is a modern, exceptional venue, where there is not a bad seat in the house!
  From Quiz: San Francisco
31 What is the name of the fault line that runs through the East Bay Area?
Answer: Hayward Fault

The Hayward Fault even runs directly under UC Berkeley's football stadium and has left some very visible cracks.
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
32 What area northeast of San Francisco, sometimes called Little Italy, is known for its beatnik culture?
Answer: North Beach

In 2007, the American Planning Association rated North Beach as "one of the greatest neighborhoods in America". North Beach is also the Red Light and nightlife district of San Francisco. In modern times, the area has housed young urban professionals, families, and some residents from nearby Chinatown.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
33 Which two streets have tunnels?
Answer: Broadway and Stockton

Broadway's tunnel runs east-to-west from about Hyde to Mason, while Stockton's tunnel runs north-to-south, from about Sacramento to Bush.
    Your options: [ Van Ness and Golden Gate ] [ Broadway and Stockton ] [ Kearny and 3rd St. ] [ Tunnels on San Francisco streets? ]
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
34 What bridge connects the city with the East Bay and suffered a partial collapse during the earthquake of 1989?
Answer: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge

The east span of the Bay Bridge is currently being rebuilt. The old, cantilevered structure will eventually be replaced by twin suspension spans -- the current span linking San Francisco and Treasure Island, and a new span linking Treasure Island and Oakland.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
35 What is the name of the rapid transit system that connects the East Bay with San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area?
Answer: BART

BART - Bay Area Rapid Transit
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
36 One of the seven hills of San Francisco is Telegraph Hill. What is the name of the tower on top of the hill?
Answer: Coit Tower

Originally called Loma Alto by the Spaniards, Telegraph Hill is where the Coit Tower is located. The hill is a sanctuary for wild parrots. The book and documentary called "The Parrots of Telegraph Hill" was released in 2003.
  From Quiz: Tomorrow I Will Go To San Francisco
37 Where would you find the Trans-America Pyramid?
Answer: Downtown

The Trans-America Pyramid is the tallest building in San Francisco and it dominates the skyline of the Downtown financial district. There is a web-cam on the top of this building, which gives excellent views of the Bay Bridge and surrounding area.
  From Quiz: San Francisco - My Favourite City!
38 Mission St., which runs from San Francisco and down through Daly City, is also known as:
Answer: 82

280 and 101 are local freeways, and Skyline Blvd. is Highway 35.
    Your options: [ 35 ] [ 82 ] [ 280 ] [ 101 ]
  From Quiz: Getting Around San Francisco
39 Approximately how many square miles comprise the city limits of San Francisco?
Answer: 47

After Manhattan, San Francisco is the second-most densely populated County in the nation, with 800,000-odd people living within a scant seven by seven miles.
  From Quiz: San Francisco
40 What city was once called the Coney Island of the West Coast?
Answer: Alameda

Alameda which is a city and an island was once called the Coney Island of the West Coast.
  From Quiz: San Francisco East Bay
The rest of the questions and answers can be found in our quizzes here:
San Francisco Quizzes
Homepage - FAQ - Help / Contact Us

Copyright FunTrivia, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
FunTrivia is a collaborative community effort, where we are constantly updating questions to keep them accurate. If you find an error, click through to the quiz link under the stated answer and then click "Report error" at the bottom of that page.