When taken together with the Port of Oakland across the Bay of San Francisco, the Port of San Francisco is one of the leading ports of the United States of America. The port was born out of the California Gold Rush of 1849, and today manages 7.5 miles of San Francisco waterfront stretching from Fisherman’s Wharf in the north to the India Basin in the south of the bay. The responsibilities of the port authority include the promotion of maritime commerce, navigation and dredging of the bay, providing environmental protection work and public recreation facilities, and turning around eighty cruise ship calls with over 200,000 passengers annually.