Click the photo to see it full size. Sir Francis Drake's ships are said to have anchored here in 1579, hence the name of the bay and the estuary Drake's Estero, whose mouth is visible at center. These sedimentary rocks date from the early Cenozoic Era, which began 66 million years ago, and they are only gently deformed by their journey up the coast at the hands of the San Andreas fault system. Point Reyes is protected as a National Seashore, and all collecting of rocks and fossils is prohibited, but the hiking and photography here are superb.
The rocks of Point Lobos, nearly 200 kilometers to the south, are almost exactly the same as these, a fact that places them together roughly 60 million years ago. See the photo article on tectonic piercing points for a detailed look at the evidence that ties these two localities together and documents their separation.