Determining the depth dependence of the shear properties of articular cartilage is essential for understanding the structure–function relation in this tissue. Here, we measured spatial variations in the shear modulus G of bovine articular cartilage using a novel technique that combines shear testing, confocal imaging and force measurement. We found that G varied by up to two orders of magnitude across a single sample, exhibited a global minimum 50–250 μm below the articular surface in a region just below the superficial zone and was roughly constant at depths >1000 μm (the “plateau region”). For plateau strains γ_plateau≈0.75% and overall compressive strains ε≈5%, G_min and G_plateau were ≈70 and ≈650 kPa, respectively. In addition, we found that the shear modulus profile depended strongly on the applied shear and axial strains. The greatest change in G occurred at the global minimum where the tissue was highly nonlinear, stiffening under increased shear strain, and weakening under increased compressive strain. Our results can be explained through a simple thought model describing the observed nonlinear behavior in terms of localized buckling of collagen fibers and suggest that compression may decrease the vulnerability of articular cartilage to shear-induced damage by lowering the effective strain on individual collagen fibrils.