Alcatraz

Alcatraz island, western California, in San Francisco Bay, near San Francisco. It rises 40 m (130 ft) above the surface of the bay and is 535 m (1,755 ft) long. Spanish Lieutenant Juan Manuel de Ayala explored the island in 1755; he named it Isla de los Alcatraces (Isle of the Pelicans), after the large pelican population there. The United States Department of Justice used the island as a military prison from 1868 until 1933, when it became a federal prison for dangerous prisoners. The prison was closed in 1963. In 1969 a group of Native Americans occupied the island in an effort to win recognition of their claim to the island. The Native Americans were forced off the island in 1971. In 1972 Alcatraz became part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.