This line shapefile depicts fault lines within the offshore area of San Gregorio, California. The offshore San Gregorio map area lies about 15 to 25 km southwest of the San Andreas Fault, the dominant structure in the distributed transform boundary between the North American and Pacific plates. The map area straddles the right-lateral San Gregorio Fault zone, a prominent structure west of the San Andreas Fault in the broader San Andreas Fault system. The San Gregorio Fault zone occurs predominantly in the offshore and extends 400 km from Point Conception on the south to Bolinas and Point Reyes on the north (Dickinson and others, 2005), coming onland at coastal promontories such as Pescadero Point in the map area and Pillar Point, a few km north of Half Moon Bay (sheet 9). In the offshore, the San Gregorio Fault system forms a distributed shear zone about 2 to 4 km wide that includes two main diverging fault strands. The western strand (also known as the Frijoles Fault) extends offshore from Pescadero Point. The eastern strand (also known as the Coastways Fault or Seal Cove Fault), is mostly onshore in this map area. Cumulative lateral slip on the San Gregorio Fault zone is thought to range from 4 to 10 mm/yr in this region (U.S. Geological Survey, 2010). The western strand of the San Gregorio Fault zone (i.e., Frijoles Fault) forms the eastern boundary of the Pigeon Point high. Faults were primarily mapped by interpretation of seismic reflection profile data (see sheet 8, SIM 3306). The seismic reflection profiles were collected between 2007 and 2010. A map that shows these data is published in Scientific Investigations Map 3306, "California State Waters Map Series--Offshore of San Gregorio, California." This layer is part of USGS Data Series 781. In 2007, the California Ocean Protection Council initiated the California Seafloor Mapping Program (CSMP) to create a comprehensive seafloor map of high-resolution bathymetry, marine benthic habitats and geology within the 3-nautical-mile limit of California's State Waters. CSMP has divided coastal California into 110 map blocks, each to be published individually as United States Geological Survey Open-File Reports (OFRs) or Scientific Investigations Maps (SIMs) at a scale of 1:24,000. Maps display seafloor morphology and character, identify potential marine benthic habitats and illustrate both the seafloor geology and shallow (to about 100 m) subsurface geology. Data layers for bathymetry, bathymetric contours, acoustic backscatter, seafloor character, potential benthic habitat and offshore geology were created for each map block, as well as regional-scale data layers for sediment thickness, depth to transition, transgressive contours, isopachs, predicted distributions of benthic macro-invertebrates and visual observations of benthic habitat from video cruises over the entire state. This coverage can be used to to aid in assessments and mitigation of geologic hazards in the coastal region and to provide sufficient geologic information for land-use and land-management decisions both onshore and offshore. These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. This information is not intended for navigational purposes.The data can be used with geographic information systems (GIS) software to display geologic and oceanographic information. U.S. Geological Survey. (2013). Faults: Offshore of San Gregorio, California, 2010. California State Waters Map Series Data Catalog: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 781. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/pw824xt0743. Map political location: San Mateo County, California Compilation scale: 1:24,000 Base maps used are hillshades generated from IfSAR, LiDAR, and multibeam mapping both onshore and offshore (see sheet 2, SIM 3306, for more information). References Cited Dickinson, W.R., Ducea, M., Rosenberg, L.I., Greene, H.G., Graham, S.A., Clark, J.C., Weber, G.E., Kidder, S., Ernst, W.G., and Brabb, E.E., 2005, Net dextral slip, Neogene San Gregorio-Hosgri fault zone, coastal California: Geologic evidence and tectonic implications: Geological Society of America Special Paper 391, 43 p. This layer is presented in the WGS84 coordinate system for web display purposes. Downloadable data are provided in native coordinate system or projection.