Tiburon

Tiburon, California

Tiburon is an incorporated town in Marin County, California. It occupies most of the Tiburon Peninsula, which reaches south into the San Francisco Bay. The smaller city of Belvedere (formerly a separate island) occupies the south-east part of the peninsula and is contiguous with Tiburon. Tiburon is bordered by Corte Madera to the north and Mill Valley to the west, but is otherwise surrounded by the Bay.

The city's name derives from the Spanish word tiburón, which means "Shark". The name was first given to the peninsula on which the city is situated, and probably inspired by the prevalence of locally native leopard shark in the surrounding waters.

The serpentine soils of Ring Mountain and the Tiburon Hills are host to a unique plant community, including several endemic or near-endemic species, notably, the Tiburon mariposa lilly, the Tiburon indian paintbrush, and the Tiburon jewelflower, as well as a number of other rare and endangered species. Ring Mountain is also a significant location of Native American prehistoric sites, notably rock carvings.