Alcatraz

One of the myths surrounding Alcatraz was that it was inescapable. Although the waters surrounding the island are extremely cold and full of strong currents, there are no man-eating sharks as usually portrayed in the films. In recent years two 10 year old children actually swam to the island to prove that it could be done. But, as with every prison, there were escape attempts. In total 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, Like all the islands in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz began its life as a mountain punctuating a vast savannah. At the end of the last ice age around 13,000 BC, it extended beyond the Golden Gate and was home to such exotic and extinct animals as the short-faced bear, the American cheetah, etc. Alcatraz Island is 22 acres and reaches 121 feet above sea level. Aside from the few natural rainwater collecting cisterns, the island has no source of fresh water. "The Rock", a place We're on an island surrounded by boiling acid that just happens to be infested with sharks. There are guard towers every twenty feet and there are more Mooks here than you've had warm meals. The only way on or off that miserable piece of land is a narrow bridge, with explosives wired. That's how Alcatraz was a very important subject in history.