Alcatraz

Alcatraz [Sp. Álcatraces =pelicans], rocky island in San Francisco Bay, W Calif, about one mile (1.61 km) north of San Francisco. Alcatraz was first sighted by the Spanish in 1772 (and possibly three years earlier). Its name derives from the presence of a pelican colony, but Spanish and Mexican maps referred to Yerba Buena Island as Alcatraz until 1826, when the two islands clearly acquired their present names. Alcatraz, which came under U.S. control in 1850, became the site of the first U.S. fort on the West Coast and was used as a U.S. military prison from 1859 until 1934, when it became a federal prison housing the most dangerous criminals; it was closed in 1963. Nicknamed "The Rock," it was a symbol of the impregnable fortress prison with maximum security and strict discipline. From 1969 to 1971 a group of Native American activists occupied the island in the unsuccessful hope of establishing a center there, but the occupation was an impetus to the adoption of federal reforms. Alcatraz became part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area in 1972, and by the mid-1990s it was attracting almost a million visitors a year.

Bibliography: See study by E. N. Thompson (1979).

Alcatraz a rocky island in San Francisco Bay, California. It was, between 1934 and 1963, the site of a top-security federal prison.

Alcatraz (Sp. álcatraces, pelican) Island in San Francisco Bay, celebrated as an escape-proof prison surrounded by shark-infested waters. Discovered by the Spanish in 1769, it served as a fort and then US federal prison (1933–63). In 1972 it became part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area.

http://www.nps.gov/alcatraz