Take a fun and scenic drive to Point Reyes to see a piece of the famous San Andreas fault responsible for the 1906 earthquake.
The fault slice can even be seen on the map below, creating Bolinas Bay and Tomales Bay that together almost separate Point Reyes from the rest of Marin County.
We also can see valleys caused by this huge fault along the San Andreas Lake and Crystal Springs Reservoir south of San Francisco.
Directions
Point Reyes is located approximately 30 miles (50 km) north of San Francisco on Highway 1 in Marin County. You can reach the park Visitor Center (and Earthquake Trail) by taking scenic Highway 1, either northbound or southbound, and turning west near Olema. You can also reach the park via Sir Francis Drake Boulevard or the Point Reyes/Petaluma Road, as shown above. For more maps, see the Point Reyes National Seashore website.
The Fault in 1906
Source: USGS, 1906
The Fault Today
Source: Jeanne Perkins, 2010
When you get to the far end of this short trail, walk up the stairs and line up the posts that mark the surface trace of the fault. You can see how the piece of the fence on the left moved away from you 16 feet (or the piece of the fence on the right moved toward you 16 feet)!