San Rafael

Sister cities

• Lonate Pozzolo

History

San Rafael was once the site of several Coast Miwok villages: Awani-wi, near downtown San Rafael; Ewu, near Terra Linda; and Shotomko-cha, in Marinwood. Mission San Rafael Arcángel was founded as the 20th Spanish mission in the colonial province of Alta California by three priests—Father Narciso Durán from Mission San José, Father Abella from Mission San Francisco de Asís, Father Luis Gíl y Taboada from La Iglesia de Nuestra Señora Reina de los Angeles—on December 14, 1817, four years before Mexico gained independence from Spain. The mission from which the downtown grew and the city being named after the Archangel Raphael, the Angel of Healing. The mission was originally planned as a hospital site for Central Valley American Indians who had become ill at the cold San Francisco Mission Dolores. Father Luis Gil, who spoke several Native American languages, was put in charge of the facility. In part because of its ideal weather, San Rafael was later upgraded to full mission status in 1822. The mission had 300 converts within its first year, and 1,140 converts by 1828. Following the Mexican secularization act of 1833, the Mexican government took over the California missions in 1834, and Mission San Rafael was abandoned in 1844, eventually falling into ruin. San Rafael has been the seat of Marin County since April 25, 1851. The San Francisco and North Pacific Railroad reached San Rafael in 1879 and was linked to the national rail network in 1888. The United States Navy operated a San Pablo Bay degaussing range from San Rafael through World War II.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (26.42%) is water. and again on September 6, 2020. The record lowest temperature was on December 22, 1990. There are an average of 17.9 afternoons annually with a high of or more and 1.2 afternoons with a high of or more. Freezing temperatures ( or below) occur on an average of 3.6 mornings. Total annual precipitation averages , with an average of 64.3 days with measurable rain. The rainy season is from November to early April: rain is rare outside of this period and it is normal to receive no rain in June, July, August, and September. The wettest "rain year" was from July 1994 to June 1995 with and the driest from July 1975 to June 1976 with . The most rain in one month was in January 1995, and the heaviest 24-hour rainfall was on December 11, 1995. A trace of snow was recorded on January 30, 1976.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  62,604
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  52,707
• Anna's Hummingbird

  Calypte anna (R.Lesson, 1829) · Aves
  50,417
• Turkey Vulture

  Cathartes aura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  39,565
• Black Phoebe

  Sayornis nigricans (Swainson, 1827) · Aves
  39,431
• California Towhee

  Melozone crissalis (Vigors, 1839) · Aves
  39,239
• White-crowned Sparrow

  Zonotrichia leucophrys (J.R.Forster, 1772) · Aves
  36,912
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  36,332

Largest nearby schools

• Redwood High
  High · Larkspur · 1,862 students · 20.5:1 ratio
• Tamalpais High
  High · Mill Valley · 1,540 students · 20.3:1 ratio
• Novato High
  High · Novato · 1,458 students · 23.5:1 ratio
• San Rafael High
  High · San Rafael · 1,265 students · 21.8:1 ratio
• Archie Williams High
  High · San Anselmo · 1,224 students · 19.4:1 ratio
• Terra Linda High
  High · San Rafael · 1,189 students · 20.9:1 ratio
• James B. Davidson Middle
  Middle · San Rafael · 1,063 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• Mill Valley Middle
  Middle · Mill Valley · 797 students · 16.3:1 ratio