Tom's Point

Tom's Point lies approximately 3 kilometers (2 miles) from the mouth of Tomales Bay. Several plant communities occur here, the dominant being the coastal scrub. There is some coastal bluff as well as a small freshwater pond. Numerous waterfowl frequent the pond and the mudflats adjacent to the Point.

Tom's Point is composed of sedimentary rocks of the Pleistocene Miller Formation, of mixed marine and brackish-water origin. The well stratified sequence includes conglomerate, sandstone and siltstone. At one sea-cliff exposure these are lying on sheared glaucophane schist and related rocks of the Franciscan Formation.

The entire Point lies within the San Andreas Fault Zone, and the bedding is cut and displaced by a number of the fault traces within the zone. In the cliffs there are excellent exposures of the Millerton Formation beds which contain abundant marine invertebrate and terrestrial plant fossil material.

Integrity: Most of the area is relatively undisturbed.

Use: Private
Ref: Mason, H. L., 1934. Pleistocene Flora of the Tomales Formation. Cam. Inst. of Wash., Cont. to Paleo., No. 415, pp. 81-179. Johnson, R. G., 1962. Mode of Formation of the Marine Fossil Assemblages of the Pleistocene Millerton Formation of California. Bull G.S.A. 73 (l) pp. 113-130.

February 1978