Then & Now: San Andreas Fault and Habitat Diversity

The San Andreas Fault parallels the eastern border of the park and separates the North American and Pacific Tectonic Plates. Due to the variety of habitat and uniqueness of the geology, 490 species of birds have been spotted here, eighty species of mammals, eighty-five species of fish, twenty-nine species of reptiles and amphibians, and thousands of aquatic and terrestrial invertebrate species.

Click and drag the circle at the center of the photos left and right to compare the then and now images.

 

Alice Eastwood at Bear Valley Ranch, 1906

Left image
Alice Eastwood stands in a surface rupture at the W Ranch shortly after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906.
Credit: Point Reyes National Seashore Archives #016980.

Right image
Blue posts now mark the location of 1906 Earthquake's surface rupture. (2019)
Credit: NPS Photo / Ted Barone.

Shortly after the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906, Alice Eastwood stood in a surface rupture stretching along the side of a shutter ridge at the W Ranch—now the location of the Seashore's Headquarters and Bear Valley Visitor Center. A hay barn—now the Seashore's "Red Barn"—is visible in the background. Alice Eastwood was a renowned naturalist and an employee of the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

 

The W Ranch Hay Barn, 1906

Left image
The W Ranch's hay barn and the fences around it were damaged as a result of the earthquake.
Credit: Point Reyes National Seashore Archives #927817.

Right image
The W Ranch's hay barn in Bear Valley is now called the Red Barn. It houses the National Seashore Archives and class/meeting rooms. (2019)
Credit: NPS Photo / Ted Barone.

The W Ranch's hay barn was damaged as a result of the San Francisco Earthquake on April 18, 1906, as the ground shifted underneath. Fences snapped as the earth moved.

 

North Shore Railroad Train Wreck, Tomales Bay, 1906

Left image
Credit: Point Reyes National Seashore Archives #002230; Courtesy of Jack Mason Museum

Right image
Credit: NPS / Ted Barone.

From March of 1873 to January 11, 1875, the narrow gauge North Pacific Coast (NPC) Railroad was constructed from Sausalito to Tomales via Olema Station (which is now called Point Reyes Station). By 1886, the NPC extended from Sausalito to Duncan Mills and Cazadero along the Russian River. The NPC carried redwood lumber, local dairy and agricultural products, and passengers. In 1902, the NPC was sold and renamed the North Shore Railroad. In 1907, most railroads in Marin County were reorganized and renamed the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (NWP). In 1920, the NWP extended standard gauge rails from Manor (at the west end of Fairfax) to Point Reyes Station and abandoned narrow gauge service from Sausalito to Point Reyes Station. The narrow gauge tracks from Point Reyes Station north to Monte Rio were abandoned in 1930 and the standard gauge tracks from Manor to Point Reyes Station were abandoned in 1933.

Some of the original right-of-way can be seen along the Cross Marin Trail paralleling Lagunitas Creek through Samuel P. Taylor State Park and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, along the shore of Tomales Bay, and in Duncan Mills. The current U.S. Post Office in Point Reyes Station was the town's train station. The NPC steam locomotive No. 12, the "Sonoma," is a restored exhibit at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

 

Levee Road after the San Francisco Earthquake, 1906

Left image
Credit: Point Reyes National Seashore Archives #00670.

Right image
Credit: NPS / Ted Barone.

The Levee Road between Point Reyes Station and Inverness crosses a marsh at the head of Tomales Bay. It has been sitting on top of mud since its construction in 1868. The Earthquake of 1906 moved the Point Reyes peninsula up to 20 feet northwest, relative to the rest of the North American continent. The Levee road was straight before the earthquake, but the west side shifted north about 20 feet during the earthquake