The San Andreas Fault bisects the Point Reyes peninsula from the California mainland.
The San Andreas Fault Zone is present at Point Reyes National Seashore and separates the Pacific plate from the slowing moving North American plate. The Pacific plate is estimated to creep northwestward about two inches a year but the most dramatic displacement of this fault occurred in 1906 when the Point Reyes Peninsula leapt 20 feet northwestward. The most accessible location within Point Reyes National Seashore to view the San Andreas Fault Zone is from the Earthquake Trail, located off of the parking lot at the BearValleyVisitorCenter.
Did You Know?
In the mid-1800s, the tule elk was hunted to the brink of extinction. The last surviving tule elk were discovered and protected in the southern San Joaquin Valley in 1874. In 1978, ten tule elk were reintroduced to Point Reyes, which now has one of California's largest populations, numbering ~400.