Transform Faults

Faults are a break in the crust of a body like the earth or moon along with some movement of rock taking place. The hard outer layer that makes up the earth’s surface is called crust. It floats on a bed of semi-molten rock and is cracked in places. Each one of the cracked sections of the crust is called a plate. Scientists call the places where earth movement has left cracks in the surface rock faults. Evidence of shifting plates and released stress of moving solid rock seen by broken crust on Earth’s surface. Faults are classified three different ways: strike-slip, normal and reverse. Strike-slip fault appears when two plate ends slide past each other horizontally. Normal faults occur when the end of one plate slides vertically down the end of another. Reverse fault is when one plate end moves vertically up the end of another plate. Normal and reverse faults result in ridges causing distinctive land formations. Plate movements can be both vertical and horizontal at the same time, producing what is known as an oblique fault.

Plate Tectonics shows us that the entire world is broken up into roughly twelve giant plates. The six major tectonic plates, as the sections are called, are the African, American, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indian and Pacific plates. Each one reaching thousands of miles long and wide. Each specific plate is made up of rock and are about forty miles thick. All of the plates fit together like a puzzle. Fitting close to each other which in turn makes the earth. When the plates reach up very high they become continents the ones that are very low form basins. These basins then become filled with water and become our oceans. The plates are on the earth’s mantle. The mantle is 2,000 miles thick. The t...

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...nds 131 km. Calaveras Fault is considered a “right lateral strike-slip faults”, which means that the motion is primarily horizontal. Close to two-thirds of its supposed surface trace is hidden by ancient landslides and other surficial deposits making this Fault zone extremely complex.

In conclusion the world that we live in has many interesting things. From different types of faults to different types of fault zones. Each with their own interesting facts and information about them. What is know about the San Andreas and what it does for the earth either good or bad might not that extensive but what we do know is that nature will find a way to make something happen on the earth so that it will better benefit it in some way. So that by having this giant crease looking thing stretching almost the entire length of the state of California it some how benefits us.