History of Oakland, California
Oakland, founded in 1852, is the eighth-largest city in California and the county seat of Alameda County. It lies on the East Bay of San Francisco Bay, nestled against the Berkeley Hills and bordering five of the East Bay Regional Park. To Oakland's north is Berkeley, home to the renowned University of California, Berkeley, and to its west across the San Francisco Bay Bridge.
Oakland is located in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Combined statistical area is the sixth most populated metropolitan area in the United States. The Bay Area has a population of over 7 million. As of 2007, Oakland's population was 415,492, making it the third-largest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, after San Jose and San Francisco.
Major employers in Oakland include the local, state, and federal governments, United States Postal Service, the Port of Oakland and carriers associated with the port, regional transportation and utility authorities, Kaiser Permanente, Clorox and Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.
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