Book 12, Question 39
Why Do Transform Faults Slide Sideways?
At a transform fault, two plates slide past each other sideways. They snag and stick, and the stress builds up. Then they suddenly slip, and that makes an earthquake!
More fun facts
- At a transform fault, two blocks of rock slide sideways past each other without moving up or down.
- Scientists also call this a strike slip fault.
- The San Andreas Fault in California is a famous transform plate boundary.
- Along it, a thin sliver of western California on the Pacific Plate slides north northwest past the North American Plate.
- The San Andreas is just one of many active faults in a wide zone around the San Francisco Bay Area.
- The Queen Charlotte Fault is another transform boundary where the Pacific Plate moves north past the North American Plate.
Sources: U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, U.S. Geological Survey
Questions kids ask
Which way is the Pacific Plate moving in California?
It slides north northwest past the North American Plate.