Millbrae

Sister cities

• Mosta
• La Serena

History

The oral tradition of the Ohlone people suggests they have been living in the Bay Area for thousands of years. Anthropological evidence suggests Ohlone ethnogenesis occurred around 700 CE following a wave of migration from the Central Valley. The local Ohlone people are today called the Ramaytush Ohlone; however, this name is a linguistic designation that arose relatively recently. Prior to colonization, the Ohlone did not operate as a single consolidated unit; they identified more with their local tribe and village than with the nation at large. The several local tribes that lived in the area prior to colonization coalesced into the modern Ramaytush people following the precipitous decline of their population in the 1800s. The closest villages to what is now Millbrae were located by the banks of San Bruno Creek, and they are known as Urebure and Siplichiquin. A third nearby village—whose original name is unknown—is called CA-SMA-299. Anthropological evidence and oral tradition indicate the Ohlone people were living in the Bay Area prior to the 1500s. In 1601, New Spain tasked Sebastián Vizcaíno with mapping the California coastline in detail and locating safe harbors in Alta California for Manila Galleons to use on their return voyage to Acapulco from Manila. In 1602, members of Vizcaíno's expedition explored as far north as Coos Bay, however like previous expeditions, they missed the Golden Gate. In 1603, this expedition landed in Monterey Bay, about 50 miles southeast of Millbrae, leading to the first documented interaction between the Ohlone people and European explorers. Little came of this expedition, and for the next 150 years, Alta California remained a distant frontier land, largely outside of the kingdom's control, despite its claims. Anthropological…

Geography

Millbrae has a total area of , of which is land and , comprising 0.72%, is water.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  55,591
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  55,245
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  51,551
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  46,644
• Western Gull

  Larus occidentalis Audubon, 1839 · Aves
  45,503
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  43,731
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  39,928
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  39,363