At Point Reyes, California, the San Andreas Fault exits the North American Continent and extends seaward where it eventually joins the Mendocino Fracture Zone and the Gorda Ridge (a segment of a mid-ocean spreading center or divergent plate boundary).

The image on this page shows very clearly the trace of the San Andreas Fault zone as it passes through the Pt. Reyes area and heads out to sea - you are looking toward the northwest down the axis of a valley defined by the San Andreas Fault.

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Pt. Reyes itself (on the left side of this image) is part of the Pacific Plate, and is being translated southeastward along the transform plate boundary marked by the San Andreas Fault Zone. The right side of the image is part of the North American Plate and is being translated northwestward relative to Pt. Reyes.

To learn more about the San Andreas Fault in California, read the online publication "The San Andreas Fault" by the United States Geological Survey.