Alcatraz Island Lighthouse island (they collected eggs from the large flock of birds that regularly gathered there), Alcatraz got its name in 1775 only when Juan de Ayala, a Spaniard was engaged to survey the harbor and the San Francisco Bay. Since he observed pelicans in large numbers on the island he named the island as "Isla de los Alcatraces" meaning the "Island of Pelicans". The island is separated from the main land by more than . The gold rush and the inherent risk of the choppy waters of the west coast prompted the urgent need for establishing lighthouses. Congress recognized the need
Alcatraz Island "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4" as a playable level, and in the video game "" in a downloadable zombie survival map called "Mob of the Dead". It is also featured as a playable racetrack in the 1996 arcade racing video game "". Alcatraz has also been portrayed often as a safe haven or base of operations in many post-apocalyptic movies, such as "The Book of Eli". Alcatraz even appears in "The Alchemyst" and "The Sorceress" by author "Michael Scott" and is depicted as a prison for the immortal "Perenelle Flamel". Alcatraz is featured in the episode "Bird Mummy of Alcatraz"