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A study of cold thermal anomalies identified in continuous down‐core records of thermal structure acquired by an infrared (IR) camera during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 204 to southern Hydrate Ridge, is combined with core‐based observations of structure and lithology, to present new insights into the influence of lithology on hydrate distribution in an accretionary margin. Hydrate distribution is spatially associated with <0.5 cm–thick, laterally discontinuous sand horizons that compose <1% of the sedimentary section at all sites. Proximity to the fractured ridge crest determines the extent to which individual sand horizons host hydrate, with 70% of the horizons hosting hydrate at the crest and only 29% in the basin. This trend is consistent with focused up‐dip migration of fluids along permeable lithologic conduits, and shows that lateral flow may be as important as vertical diffusion and fracture flow in determining gas hydrate distribution at Hydrate Ridge.

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