Transform boundary

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In plate tectonics, a transform boundary (also known as transform fault boundary, transform plate boundary, transform plate margin, slip boundary or conservative plate boundary) is said to occur when tectonic plates slide and grind against each other along a transform fault. The relative motion of such plates is horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction.

Most transform boundaries are found on the ocean floor, where they often offset active spreading ridges to form a zigzag plate boundary. However the most famous transform boundaries are found on land.

Transform boundaries

The Southern Alps rise dramatically beside the Alpine Fault on New Zealand's West Coast. About 500 kilometres (300 mi) long; northwest at top.

• California's San Andreas Fault
• New Zealand's Alpine Fault
• Turkey's North Anatolian Fault
• Indonesia's Great Sumatran fault

See also

• List of tectonic plate interactions

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