How Tall is the Golden Gate Bridge

Have you ever stopped to wonder, "How tall is the Golden Gate Bridge?" Most residents of San Francisco see the bridge on a regular basis, but many might not know much about the dimensions of this majestic structure. This article will provide you some important information on this famous bridge and will answer the question, "How tall is the Golden Gate Bridge" once and for all.

There are several different answers you could be looking for if you were wondering about the height of the Golden Gate Bridge. The following information will cover all the bases.

Interestingly, the answer to the question about the height of the Golden Gate Bridge to the water is not as easy to answer as one might think. The bridge was built to connect the peninsula that the city of San Francisco occupies with Marin County to the north, which means it spans a body of water. Specifically, the Golden Gate rises above the place where the Pacific Ocean and the San Francisco Bay come together. This volatile body of water ebbs and flows with the changing tides, so calculating the distance from the water to the bridge is difficult because the distance is constantly changing. It's higher at high tide and lower at low tide.

So what do people do when they try to calculate the height of the Golden Gate Bridge over the water? The typical approach is to take an average reading of the fluctuating height over a period of time. The generally accepted figure for the distance from the deck of the bridge to the water below is 245 feet, or 75 meters.

Unfortunately, this long distance from the deck to the water has too many times been employed for tragic means. One infamous statistic about the Golden Gate Bridge is that it is the most popular place in the United States to commit suicide and one of the most popular places in the world. Jumpers travel almost ninety miles and hour and are in the air for nearly four seconds before they impact with the water. San Francisco has approved a series of suicide barriers that are planned for installation on the bridge to provide a physical deterrent to attempted suicides.

The height of the towers is the other fact that people want to know when they are wondering about the height of the Golden Gate Bridge. Because the towers are fixed structures, their height is static and can be stated with certainty. The two towers of the Golden Gate Bridge are 746 feet or 227 meters tall, and they both rise exactly 500 feet above the roadway below, or 152 meters.

There are many other informative readings available at LoveToKnow on this beautiful national landmark. If you are interested in learning about who designed the Golden Gate Bridge, this excellent article will give you a colorful history of the birth of the bridge. Some more technical specifications on the Golden Gate Bridge can be found in articles about the length and type of bridge for the Golden Gate Bridge. And finally, if you are interested in the significance and impact that the bridge has had on the Bay Area, check out the great article on the importance of the Golden Gate Bridge.

• Ferry Building at the Embarcadero
• Why Is It Called the Golden Gate Bridge
• Fun Things to Do in San Francisco

• Coit Tower
• Coupons for Monterey Bay Aquarium
• San Francisco Tattoo
• Bay Area Dog Hikes
• Best Dim Sum in San Francisco Chinatown

• What Type of Bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge
• Facts on the Golden Gate Bridge
• LoveToKnow SanFrancisco:Wanted Articles
• Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco
• The Call Building - San Francisco