Samples collected in December 1990 and July 1991 show that dissolved Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn distributions in the Gulf of the Farallones are dominated by mixing of two end-members: (1) metal-enriched San Francisco Bay water and (2) offshore California Current water. The range of dissolved metal concentrations observed is 0.2–0.9 nmol kg⁻¹ for Cd, 1–20 nmol kg⁻¹ for Cu, 4–16 nmol kg⁻¹ for Ni, and 0.2–20 nmol kg⁻¹ for Zn. Effective concentrations in fresh water discharged into San Francisco Bay during 1990–1991 (estimated by extrapolation to zero salinity) are 740–860 μmol kg⁻¹ for silicate, 21–44 μmol kg⁻¹ for phosphate, 10–15 nmol kg⁻¹for Cd, 210–450 nmol kg⁻¹ for Cu, 210–270 nmol kg⁻¹ for Ni, and 190–390 nmol kg⁻¹ for Zn. Comparison with effective trace metal and nutrient concentrations for freshwater discharge reported by Flegal et al. (1991) shows that input of these constituents to the northern reaches of San Francisco Bay accounts for only a fraction of the input to Gulf of the Farallones from the estuary system as a whole. The nutrient and trace metal composition of shelf water outside a 30-km radius from the mouth of the estuary closely resembles that of California Current water further offshore. In contrast to coastal waters elsewhere, there is little evidence of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn input by sediment diagenesis in continental shelf waters of California.