Question

Which block diagram represents the plate motion that causes the earthquakes that occur along the San Andreas Fault in California?

Answer 1

The correct answer is - (4).

California is located over a transform plate boundary, which essentially means that it is a plate boundary where the plates are sliding past each other. Because of this, there's horizontal movement supported by the horizontal pressures. The movement of the plates in this manner causes lot of unrest and adjustments into the deeper parts of the crust. Because of those unrest's and adjustments a lot of earthquakes appear in the region, but also the trademark feature of these types of boundaries, the faults. The faults in this type of boundary are parallel, linear, cracks on the ground, and they are parallel to the movement of the plates.

Answer 2

San Andreas Fault's plate motion is represented by block diagram 4. The plate motion can be described as a right-lateral strike slip fault or a dextral fault. This is classified as a strike slip fault because there is little or no vertical movement between the two plates.