The study area for this unit is the boundary between the pacific and north american plates, in california. this is a transform plate boundary, with the two plates sliding past each other. along this boundary, there is no active volcanism but there are many faults and frequent earthquakes.

in most maps of tectonic plates, this plate boundary is drawn along the san andreas fault, which stretches 1300 km (800 miles) across western california. review the map below and consider the distribution of earthquakes along this plate boundary. is tectonic activity only present along the san andreas fault? how well is this boundary characterized by the single line of the san andreas fault? explain your answer using information from the map.