Sausalito

City in northwestern California, on Richardson Bay, a western inlet of San Francisco Bay, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge and 8 km/5 mi north of central San Francisco; population (1990) 7,200. It is a Mediterranean-looking tourist destination, a mix of bohemian and expensive residences.

It was a fishing and whaling port from about 1800, and was formerly called Saucelito (‘little willow’). The Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco Bay Model, a well-known scientific display, is on the site of an important World War II shipyard.