Where's the Hayward Fault?

Point Pinole Regional Shoreline - Hayward Fault Tour

Map showing the location of the Hayward Fault in the Point Pinole area.

Map of the Hayward Fault at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline
Click here to start an image tour, or click on map cameras to see selected photographs.

What to look for: Point Pinole is an excellent location to observe how global climate change and earthquakes have impacted the San Francisco Bay Area landscape. At Point Pinole, USGS investigations suggest that the fault continues northward under the San Pablo Bay. The effect of the 1868 earthquake on the Hayward Fault on the Pinole area is unknown. This area was largely unsettled in 1868 when the land was still divided into large ranchos (ranches).

The Point Pinole area has a rich history, best noted for an eighty-year period (1880-1960) when it was home to four explosives manufacturing companies (nitroglycerin and dynamite). During this period, the area was kept isolated from the public. The fault runs along the base of a northwest-trending linear slope that at the downhill end intersects Parchester Marsh. The fault extends offshore near the northern end of low bluffs created by coastal erosion. Although the fault is covered by soil and landslide debris from the hill slope (scarp), complex structures in patches of bedrock can be seen along the shoreline during low tide.

The fault is responsible for uplift of the landscape, while coastal erosion is wearing it away. As little as 10-15 thousand years ago that San Pablo and San Francisco Bays did not exist when sea level was about 350 feet (100 meters) lower during the peak of the last Ice Age. At that time, Point Pinole would have been a forested ridge above a gradual sloping plain that descended to the Sacramento River that flowed in its channel about a mile north of the current shoreline. The river flowed through the Golden Gate and perhaps another 30 miles (50 km) to the west before it entered the Pacific Ocean. Since that time, there have been close to 100 large earthquakes on the Hayward Fault, and the earth on the west side of the fault has moved northward perhaps hundreds of feet relative to the east side of the fault!

Access Options

BART: The closest BART station is the Richmond terminal at West Barnet Avenue.

AC Transit: The AC Transit line #71 serves Point Pinole daily and connects with both the Richmond and El Cerrito Del Norte BART stations (see www.511.org for details for bus schedules). The AC Transit line #71 also serves the Contra Costa College fieldtrip area (Chapter 3).

Bike: The Park is about 3 miles from the Richmond BART station. Bicyclists should examine possible routes on a street map and should be extra cautious when riding during peak traffic hours on busy street routes.

Hike: Point Pinole Regional Shoreline has more than 12 miles of hiking trails. Park brochures with trail maps (showing the fault trace) and park-access shuttle information are available in the parking area. However, the Bay View Trail along the western shore of the park provides the best views of the landscape features associated with the Hayward Fault. The hike to the location where the fault runs offshore is a little more than a mile from the trailhead. The trails are dirt and gravel and are not accessible to typical wheelchairs.

Car: From I-80 in Richmond, take the Richmond Parkway exit and go west toward San Francisco Bay. Cross San Pablo Avenue and take the Point Pinole/Giant Highway exit. Turn right (north) at Giant Highway. Proceed north and cross the railroad tracks. The park entrance is on the left past the railroad tracks. There is currently a $6 daily state park parking fee.