Extended x-ray absorption fine structure and x-ray diffraction have determined the strain and bond distortions in epitaxial GexSi1−x on Si(001). In a 31% Ge, 340 Å pseudomorphic GexSi1−x film, the Ge–Ge and Ge–Si first-neighbor bond lengths have been found to be 2.44±0.02 and 2.38±0.02 Å, respectively. The lattice parameter perpendicular to the GexSi1−x/Si(001) interface has been found to be a⊥=5.553±0.002 Å. These results show that the bond length strain in epitaxial semiconductor layers appears primarily in the second and higher coordination shells, rather than in the nearest-neighbor bond lengths which remain the same as in the unstrained materials. A microscopic model is presented which accounts for these findings.