Everything about Point Reyes totally explained
Point Reyes is a prominent
cape on the
Pacific coast of northern
California. It is located in
Marin County approximately 30 mi (48 km) WNW of
San Francisco. The term is often applied to the
Point Reyes Peninsula, the region bounded by
Tomales Bay on the northeast and
Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast. The headland is protected as part of
Point Reyes National Seashore.
Point Reyes was originally named
Punto de los Reyes ("Kings Point") by the Spanish explorer
Sebastian Vizcaino as his ship, the
Capitana anchored in
Drake's Bay on the Day of the Three Kings (
Epiphany, or the end of the 12 Days of Christmas) on
January 6,
1603.
The entire Point Reyes Peninsula is a piece of the
Salinian Block transported northward by the
San Andreas Fault. Its core is granite, unlike the terrain east of Tomales Bay. The San Andreas Fault runs directly under Tomales Bay.
The cape protects
Drakes Bay on its southern side. The headland is largely drained by
Drakes Estero. Inverness Ridge runs along the peninsula's northwest-southeast spine, with forested peaks around 430 meters (1,400 feet). West of the ridge, the land flattens out and the vegetation turns to
scrub. The
Mount Vision fire in 1995 burned part of
Inverness Ridge.
Point Reyes lends its name to the town of
Point Reyes Station, California.
Recreation and History
The peninsula is a popular recreational destination for the nearby
San Francisco Bay Area, especially for
hiking on its many trails and sea kayaking the shores of Tomales Bay and the coast.
Vegetation native to Point Reyes includes
Bishop pine,
Douglas-fir,
coyote brush,
monkeyflower,
poison oak,
California blackberry,
salal and
coast redwood, among others.
During the
Cold War, submarines repaired at
Mare Island Naval Shipyard were tested in the shallow waters off Point Reyes following shipyard repairs. Navy safety personnel used a small monitoring and communications hut on the peninsula for monitoring submarines during these
sea trials.
Climate
The
U.S. Weather Bureau (now the
National Weather Service) maintained a cooperative weather station in the Point Reyes lighthouse from 1914 to 1943. Based on those records, average January temperatures ranged from 45.1°F to 54.1°F and average September temperatures ranged from 51.7°F to 61.0°F. The highest temperature recorded was 90°F (32°C) on October 3, 1917, and the lowest temperature recorded was 31°F (-1°C) on January 19, 1922. Annual precipitation averaged 17.05 inches. The wettest year on record was 1941 with 31.37 inches and the dryest year was 1923 was 7.32 inches. The most precipitation in one month was 9.51 inches in December 1916. The maximum 24-hour precipitation was 2.65 inches on December 15, 1929.
Fog
It can get very foggy and windy during certain parts of the year at the lighthouse, where visibility is so slim that one can't even view the lighthouse from the top of the approximately 300 steps necessary to walk down to reach it.
The lighthouse serves a great purpose in such a foggy area, as there's no beach to wash up on; it's on a rocky cliff. Day or night, the light may be the only thing visible to ships.
Point Reyes Lighthouse was used in the
John Carpenter film
The Fog (as the radio station for Antonio Bay).
Image:PointReyesStairwayToHeaven.jpg|Stairway to Heaven at Point Reyes.
Image:Point Reyes in Fog.jpg|Point Reyes Lighthouse in fog.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Point Reyes'.
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