If two tectonic plates slide past each other, how will it tear the Earth's surface down?

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Science question

Answer 1

Nicole D. asked •

If two tectonic plates slide past each other, how will it tear the Earth's surface down?

Hi,

I’m Ron P, and I’m a tutor here at Wyzant. 

Essentially, a fault is a fracture (crack) that exists between blocks of the Earth’s crust. 

Although the boundaries between tectonic plates are composed of fractures or fracture zones, not all faults lie on tectonic plate boundaries.

Movement along the fault lines depends upon the type of stresses that the crust, and the fault, are subjected to.

Faults fall into three categories based upon the type of stress they are subjected to (Richardson, n.d.):

1) Compression – “Convergent” boundary when plates move toward each other.

2) Tension- “Divergent” boundary when plates move away from each other.

3) Shear- “Transform” boundary when plates slide past each other horizontally.

I assume it is the last of these that I believe you asking about.

Since we are talking about "Transform boundaries," the plates slip past each other and move essentially parallel to one another, with little significant movement up or down relative to each other.

An example of a transform plate boundary would be the San Andreas fault along the West Coast of the USA (California and Mexico). (USGS, 2016).

With this knowledge and understanding of the nature and movement of the crust along the various types of plate boundaries, it should be easy to deduce the type of damage the Earth’s surface will experience due to movement along these faults.

The references included below contain excellent illustrations and descriptions of the various types of plate boundaries and faults.

If you would like additional assistance with this subject, please feel free to schedule a tutoring session with me, here on Wyzant.

And remember, “You can do this…!!!”

Sincerely

Ron P.

References:

Richardson, E. (n.d.). Faults | Earth 520: Plate Tectonics and People: Foundations of Solid Earth Science. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/content/l7_p3.html.

USGS. (2016, November 30). Where Earthquakes Occur. Earthquakes - general interest publication. Retrieved October 27, 2021, from https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1/where.html#:~:text=Transform%20faults%20are%20found%20where,form%20fairly%20straight%20linear%20patterns.