Strike-slip
faults occur along
transform plate boundaries and involve
horizontal movement of the fault blocks parallel to the
strike of the fault.
This shearing
horizontal movement can create distinct
landforms such as linear valleys, lake chains, and
sag ponds. Both topographic (such as
mountains, valleys, and streams) and man-made (such as roads or fences) linear features can be offset to the right or left. So, along a right-lateral strike-slip fault, the
rocks (and everything else) on the opposite side of the fault appear to have moved to the
right:
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________________________fault
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And along a
left-lateral strike-slip fault, the
rocks (and everything else) on the opposite side of the fault appear to have moved to the
left:
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_______________________fault
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North America's most famous strike-slip fault is the
San Andreas Fault. This very active right-lateral fault is over 1000 km (600 miles) long and creates
devastating earthquakes due to the great friction that results from two
plates moving past each other.