Point Reyes National Seashore - California
Posted by: 
DougK
N 38° 02.490 W 122° 48.010
10S E 517534 N 4210438
Point Reyes National Seashore is an oceanfront parks located on the Pacific Plate off the coast of California.
Waymark Code: WM9BDD
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 07/26/2010
Views: 15
Point Reyes National Seashore is an oceanfront park located on the Pacific Plate on the coast of California. Today it is 40 miles north of San Francisco, though it was once near the Tehachipi Mountains in southern California. The rift zone between Point Reyes and the North American Plate is the San Andreas fault line.
The fault line is very noticeable, as it comes back ashore from the Pacific Ocean between Bolinas and Stinson Beach into the Bolinas Lagoon. The fault line follows CA Highway 1 (Shoreline Highway) through the Olema Valley with Bolinas Ridge rising on the right and the mountains of Point Reyes rising on the left. Near the town of Point Reyes Station the fault line goes back into the ocean under Tomales Bay for its whole length and back to the Pacific Ocean past Tomales Point.
There are three Visitor Centers in the Park, Bear Valley near the entrance, Kenneth C. Patrick at Drakes Beach and the Lighthouse Visitor Center at the Point Reyes Lighthouse. The Bear Valley Center has a nearby .6 mile Earthquake walk which shows the effects of earthquake movement.
Besides earthquakes, Point Reyes is known for its wide open land, some still used for dairy farms and cattle grazing. In 1579 Sir Francis Drake visited this area, sailing in the Golden Hind. Evidence suggests that Drake stopped here for about 5 weeks to make repairs to his boat. Drake met the resident Indians of that day, the Miwoks, who supplemented Drakes food needs,
Hikers will find three kinds of terrain within Point Reyes. There are pasture lands of of Pierce Point and the Estero; the chaparral ridges and California laurel valleys to the east and west of Limantour Road; and forests and meadowlands in the parks southeastern end.
The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy offers information for visitors at their website. The National Park Service tells the history of the Lighthouse at Point Reyes.