The geographic location of ers. There were 14 escape attempts by Geography Alcatraz made it very difficult for pris- 34 men, 23 of whom were caught, six oners to escape. Bay’s were shot and killed, and five were in the water is cold and has strong tidal and unaccounted for, but assumed News™ wind-driven currents around the is- drowned. land, making a swimming escape very Three escapees in 1962 were difficult except for the most accom- thought to have drowned, but new plished swimmer. The only other leads in 1993 from a former inmate Neal G. method of escaping the island was by claimed they lived, leading to major Lineback boat or some sort of flotation device. news story in The During the time Alcatraz was a (Nov. 11, 1993). The informer claimed military prison, there were at least 29 the three escapees had rigged a drill ALCATRAZ: FROM separate escape attempts involving at to a vacuum cleaner motor to drill least 80 men. Sixty-two of the escap- through several feet of concrete and PRISON TO PARK ees were caught, one might have escape Alcatraz. They apparently had Alcatraz, the world’s most noto- drowned and 17 were never found. fabricated a raft from rubber rain- rious maximum-security penitentiary, Even though the treacherous wa- coats and allegedly reached shore closed in 1963. Known as “The Rock” ters were considered a major impedi- where one of their girlfriends met to its former inmates, Alcatraz, an ment to swimming escapes, accord- them and took them to Mexico. island in San Francisco Bay, was home ing to 1933 articles in The San Francisco Although they were never found to some of the ’ most Chronicle, at least three young women alive, such rumors tend to perpetuate hardened criminals. It continues to swam from the Dalphin (swim) Club the mythology of Alcatraz, attracting fascinate tourists who book short boat and Pier 45 at Fisherman’s Wharf to tourists by the boatload to see this rides and tours from San Francisco to Alcatraz. One, Miss Doris McLeod, macabre, but interesting place. spend a few hours walking in the actually swam around the island and And that is Geography in the steps of Alcatraz’s infamous prison- back to shore in two hours flat News™. September 10, 2004. #745. ers. (www.zpub.com). Source: http://www.zpub.com/ The island of Alcatraz is only 1,755 After Alcatraz became a federal sf50/alcatraz/ feet (535 m.) long and rises only 130 prison in 1934, many escape-proof (The author is a Geography Professor feet (40 m.) above San Francisco Bay. improvements were added. Over the and Interim Dean of the College of Arts Located only1.5 miles (2.4 km.) north 29 years that Alcatraz was a federal and Sciences at Appalachian State Uni- of San Francisco’s famous Fisherman’s penitentiary, it housed 1,033 prison- Wharf and 4 miles (6.4 km.) east of the versity, Boone, NC.) Bridge, the 12-acre (4.9- The Intimidating h.) island has a long history as a prison site. Geography in the News 9/10/04 Spanish Lieutenant Juan Manuel P. Larkins de Ayala first explored the island in San Francisco 1755. He named the island Isla de los Angel Island Alcatraces, or Isle of the Pelicans. At State Park the time, a large colony of pelicans occupied the island. The United States Army seized the island in 1846 and by 1857 had built a citadel, or fort, on it. Mount Tamalpais The U.S. Department of Justice State Park Alcatraz Island Treasure Island designated the island as a military Naval Station prison from 1861 until 1933, when it (closed) Ferry Route became a federal penitentiary for some 101 Golden Gate National Recreation Area of the country’s most dangerous fel- Fisherman’s Wharf ons. It served in that capacity until its T he closure in 1963. Soon thereafter, a Em b a 80 group of American Indians occupied rc a d e the island and its facilities, hoping to ro win a claim to the island. In 1971, they CaliforCaliforniania St were forced to leave the island. The following year, Alcatraz became part Geary Blvd ©2004 of the Golden Gate National Recre- Fulton St ation Area and was opened to tours 0 2 mi Golden Gate Park operated from Fisherman’s Wharf. 0 2 km

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