Editing Transform fault (section)

== Examples ==
[[File:Tectonic plates (2022).svg|thumb|upright=1.8|Map of Earth's principal plates (transform boundaries shown as yellow or green lines)]]
The most prominent examples of the mid-oceanic ridge transform zones are in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] between [[South America]] and [[Africa]].  Known as the St. Paul, [[Romanche Trench|Romanche]], Chain, and Ascension fracture zones, these areas have deep, easily identifiable transform faults and ridges.  Other locations include: the East Pacific Ridge located in the South Eastern [[Pacific Ocean]], which meets up with [[San Andreas Fault]] to the North.

Transform faults are not limited to oceanic crust and spreading centers; many of them are on [[continental margin]]s.  The best example is the [[San Andreas Fault]] on the Pacific coast of the United States.  The San Andreas Fault links the [[East Pacific Rise]] off the West coast of Mexico (Gulf of California) to the [[Mendocino triple junction]] (Part of the [[Juan de Fuca plate]]) off the coast of the [[Northwestern United States]], making it a ridge-to-transform-style fault.<ref name=Wilson/> The formation of the San Andreas Fault system occurred fairly recently during the [[Oligocene]] Period between 34 million and 24 million years ago.<ref name=Atwater>{{cite journal|last=Atwater|first=Tanya|author-link=Tanya Atwater|title= Implications of Plate Tectonics for the Cenozoic Tectonic Evolution of Western North America |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of America|year=1970|volume=81|issue=12|pages=3513–3536|doi=10.1130/0016-7606(1970)81[3513:ioptft]2.0.co;2|bibcode=1970GSAB...81.3513A}}</ref> During this period, the [[Farallon plate]], followed by the Pacific plate, collided into the [[North American plate]].<ref name=Atwater/> The collision led to the subduction of the Farallon plate underneath the North American plate.  Once the spreading center separating the Pacific and the Farallon plates was subducted beneath the North American plate, the San Andreas Continental Transform-Fault system was created.<ref name=Atwater/>

[[Image:Alpine Fault SRTM.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|The [[Southern Alps]] rise dramatically beside the [[Alpine Fault]] on [[New Zealand]]'s [[West Coast, New Zealand|West Coast]]. About 500 kilometres (300&nbsp;mi) long; northwest at top.]]
In [[New Zealand]], the [[South Island]]'s [[Alpine Fault]] is a transform fault for much of its length. This has resulted in the folded land of the [[Southland Syncline]] being split into an eastern and western section several hundred kilometres apart. The majority of the syncline is found in [[Southland, New Zealand|Southland]] and [[The Catlins]] in the island's southeast, but a smaller section is also present in the [[Tasman District]] in the island's northwest.

Another example is the Húsavík‐Flatey fault. This oceanic transform fault is nearly completely submerged, but ~10 km is exposed in northern Iceland, near the town of [[Húsavík]]. There, it manifests as a series of [[Half-graben|half-grabens]] and sharp [[Fault scarp|fault scarps]]. Since oceanic transform faults are often difficult to research because of their submerged nature, this fault represents a rare opportunity for research. Scientists inspected [[Holocene]] earthquake activity by looking cross sections of the fault, and found the approximate earthquake frequency in the region to be 600 ± 200 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Matrau |first=Rémi |last2=Klinger |first2=Yann |last3=Thorðarson |first3=Thorvaldur |last4=Guðmundsdóttir |first4=Esther R. |last5=Avşar |first5=Ulas |last6=Parisi |first6=Laura |last7=Fittipaldi |first7=Margherita |last8=Jónsson |first8=Sigurjón |date=2024-03-28 |title=Evidence for Holocene Earthquakes along the Húsavík‐Flatey Fault in North Iceland: Implications for the Seismic Behavior of Oceanic Transform Faults |url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article-abstract/114/4/1966/637048/Evidence-for-Holocene-Earthquakes-along-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America |volume=114 |issue=4 |pages=1966–1993 |doi=10.1785/0120230119 |issn=0037-1106}}</ref> 

Other examples include:
* [[Middle East]]'s [[Dead Sea Transform]] Fault
* [[Pakistan]]'s [[Chaman Fault]]
* [[Turkey]]'s [[North Anatolian Fault]]
* [[North America]]'s [[Queen Charlotte Fault]]
* [[Myanmar]]'s [[Sagaing Fault]]