Benicia State Recreation Area preserves 447 acres of shoreline where the Carquinez Strait narrows near Benicia, with tidal marsh, rocky beaches, grassy hillsides, Southampton Creek, and Southampton Bay. The site also carries layered Bay Area history: in 1775 Don José de Cañizares named the cove Puerto de las Asunta, and Southampton Bay later took its name from the Navy frigate Southampton, brought there in 1849. About 70 percent of the area is wetland, including marshes that support endangered plants and wildlife and have earned designation as an Important Bird Area. The park also provides trails, fishing access, picnicking, and a native plants garden along a relatively undisturbed shoreline.