San Andreas Fault

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/san-andreas-fault

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the plate boundary type?Continental right-lateral strike-slip transform fault
2. What is the location?Extends approximately 1,200 kilometers through California, USA
3. Why does the San Andreas Fault cause earthquakes?The plates are locked together by friction, building up stress until it breaks and releases energy as an earthquake.
4. How fast do the plates move along the San Andreas Fault?They slip about 20 to 35 millimeters each year, but the movement happens in bursts, not all the time.

Transform Fault: A fault where tectonic plates slide horizontally past each other, accommodating relative motion.
Right-Lateral Strike-Slip: A fault where the blocks of rock move horizontally, with the opposite block moving to the right relative to the observer.
Tectonic Plates: Enormous, rigid slabs of rock that comprise the Earth's lithosphere and move slowly over the asthenosphere.
Triple Junction: A point where the boundaries of three tectonic plates meet.