Transform Boundaries
The third type of boundary, a transform boundary
( figure 1.13),
occurs where two plates slide horizontally past each other,
rather
than toward or away from each other. The San Andreas
fault in
California and the Alpine fault of New Zealand are two
examples
of this type of boundary. Earthquakes resulting from
motion
along transform faults vary in size depending on whether
the
fault cuts through oceanic or continental crust and on the
length
of the fault. The San Andreas transform fault has generated
large
earthquakes, but the more numerous and much shorter
transform
faults within ocean basins generate much smaller
earthquakes.
The significance of transform faults was first recognized
in ocean basins. Here they occur as fractures perpendicular
to
mid-oceanic ridges, which are offset ( figure 1.8 ). As shown
in
figure 1.13 , the motion on either side of a transform fault
is a
result of rock that is created at and moving away from
each of
the displaced oceanic ridges. Although most transform
faults
are found along mid-oceanic ridges, occasionally a
transform