Oakland is the only city in the world to have a natural saltwater lake within its city limits.
Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California.
There are over 80 parks in Oakland where you can reconvene with your inner wilderness explorer.
Oakland’s territory covers what was once a mosaic of California coastal terrace prairie, oak woodland, and north coastal scrub.
An act to incorporate the city was passed on May 4, 1852, and incorporation was later approved on March 25, 1854.
Dreyer’s ice cream was developed in Oakland in the 1920s.
The container shipping industry began in Oakland. The first container cranes were erected in the 1960s to supply the US war effort in Vietnam.
Oakland is a charter city.
The United States Census Bureau says the city’s total area is 78.0 square miles, including 55.8 square miles of land and 22.2 square miles of water.
Canned black olives were invented by a German widow named Freda Ehmann in Oakland in the 1890s.
Oakland has a Mediterranean climate with an average of 260 sunny days per year.
Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the country, with 125 different dialects and languages are spoken.
The slang word “hella” originated in Oakland. Linguists believe that its use began in the late 1970s and spread widely through Northern California.
Oakland is a Gnome Home, There are over 2,300 little painted gnomes throughout the city.
Rocky Road ice cream was invented in Oakland by William Dreyer and Joseph Edy in 1929.
The earliest known inhabitants were the Huchiun natives, who lived there for thousands of years.
There are over 600 churches and temples representing all faiths and 300 or more restaurants serving a variety of cuisines.
Oakland is the most ethnically diverse city in the United States, more than 125 languages and dialects are spoken.
Oakland has its own Bonsai Garden. It’s located near Lake Merritt’s Lakeside Park. It opened back in 1999.
Oakland’s highest point is near Grizzly Peak Blvd, east of Berkeley, just over 1,760 feet (540 m) above sea level
Oakland is twinned with the following sister cities: Fukuoka, Japan; Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana; Nakhodka, Russia; Dalian, China; Funchal, Portugal; Santiago de Cuba, Cuba; Da Nang, Vietnam; Benin City, Nigeria; Port-de-Paix, Haiti; Oakleigh, Australia; Foshan, China; Bauchi, Nigeria & Ocho Rios, Jamaica.
Walt Disney took inspiration for Disneyland from Oakland’s own Children’s Fairyland.
The Popsicle was invented in Oakland in 1905 by 11-year-old Frank Epperson.
