Transform boundaries involve?

• A. Two plates slide past each other.
• B. Two plates collide.
• C. Two plates spread apart.
• D. Subduction occurs.

Answer: (A)

Transform boundaries involve a lateral, side-by-side motion of tectonic plates. The plates slide past one another horizontally, without moving toward or away from each other. This creates shear stress as rocks deform and then break along faults, releasing energy as earthquakes when they slip. An example is the San Andreas Fault. This type is different from divergent boundaries, where plates move apart and new crust can form, and from convergent boundaries, where plates collide and one may be pushed beneath the other in a subduction zone. Subduction is a process that occurs at convergent boundaries, not transform boundaries.