Conservative Margins

Question 1

What is a conservative margin

Answer 1

Where two crustal plates slide past each other and the movement of the plates is parallel to the plate margin, there is no creation or destruction of crust.

Question 2

Is there volcanic activity

Answer 2

There is no subduction and therefore no volcanic activity

Question 3

Is there earthquakes

Answer 3

The movement of the plates creates stresses between the plate edges and, as sections of the plates rub past each other, the release of energy triggers shallow-focus earthquakes

Question 4

Example of an earthquake at conservative margins

Answer 4

San Francisco 1906 and 1988, Los Angeles 1994- these occur at the San Andreas fault in California, where the Pacific and North American plates move parallel to each other. Both move in the same direction but at different speeds. Stresses can cause transform faults to run at right angles to the fault line.