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This was the view from the top of the ferry out to the island.
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| As we got closer Alcatraz emerged from the fog.
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| A warning sign posted on the San Francisco side of the island, just before the dock.
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| This view shows the lighthouse, which is still functioning. While I was taking a ranger tour we saw people up inside of it, I believe the Marines currently own it. Below the lighthouse is the commander's quarters, which burned down during the Indian occupation.
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This is at the one and only landing to the island. If you look closely at the sign you can still see the alterations that the Native Americans made to it during their occupation during the late 60s.
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| Water is an incredibly precious commodity on the island. There isn't any freshwater available on it, even though the army tried drilling several hundred feet into the bedrock below. Therefore all of the water has to be shipped in, which is why nobody occupied the island until recent times.
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| The run down (but apparently functional) powerhouse for the island. Most visitors probably never get close to this building since it is off of the standard trails.
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| A mist enshrouded shot of the main prison on Alcatraz.
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While I was waiting for the first ranger tour I was about 100 feet from the dock where a ferry had just disenbarked a couple hundred tourists. I caught some motion out of my eye and there was this beautiful hummingbird darting around the small tree next to me.
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| The ranger tours are definitely worthwhile. On the nature one I attended we went into the closed off parts of the island. This is the remains of one of the original staff quarters, which was raized after the occupation. Today it is an important bird habitat.
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| An interesting entanglement of plants and bent steel rods.
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| Another building that belonged to the staff quarters. In the distance can be seen the lighthouse.
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Our small tour group (There were 5 of us and the park ranger) was surprised to see this old man fishing at the cliff face. The cliff has been falling into the bay, making this particular area of the island very dangerous.
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| Almost all of the native species on the island have been lost, due to the large number of alien species brought in by the different groups of military men and prison guards that have occupied it. These flowers were a part of the large gardens that were originally planted by the military to help break up the grey drabbiness that caused protestation from the residents of San Francisco. Later it was taken care of by the prisoners.
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| One of the main corridors inside of the prison. I was dubious about taking the audio tour but it was actually very good. I definitely recommend it to anybody who visits the prison.
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| The heavily fortified windows in the prison
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This is the space that is behind the prisoners cells. One of the other spaces was used during an attempted escape from the island.
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| A sniper's window in the corner of the prison block.
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| This shot was a pain in the butt to take. It took a couple of minutes of waiting until the other tourists cleared out of my way.
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| These were considered the best cells to have in Alcatraz. The windows pictured earlier provide a refreshing beam of light. The prisoners in these cells could here the New Years Eve party each year at a Yacht Club in the city.
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A guard tower located in the corner of the recreation area. The watertower is behind it.
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| The quarters of the commander, which were burned down during the Native American occupation.
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| This was taken on the bay tour that was a part of the City Pass that I got. The boat circled the island, so I took a few more pictures. This is a part of the power plant for the island.*
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Album: San Francisco 
1 
