What happens in the creeping section near Parkfield?

The fault slides slowly instead of locking

Where does the fault's name come from?

San Andreas Lake near San Francisco

San Andreas Fault Quiz: Plates, Creep and Big Quakes

This San Andreas Fault quiz traces the famous crack running through California. Play 10 interactive questions on the Pacific and North American plates, strike-slip motion, its length, yearly movement, creeping sections at Parkfield, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Fort Tejon, the Carrizo Plain and how it got its name.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

State
Which US state does the San Andreas Fault cross?
Plates
Which two plates meet along the fault?
Type
What kind of fault is it?
Length
About how long is the fault?
Speed
On average, how fast do the plates move past each other?
1906
Which city was devastated by the 1906 earthquake on the fault?
Creep
What happens in the creeping section near Parkfield?
Tejon
Which major quake struck the southern section in 1857?
View
Where can visitors see the fault clearly on the surface?
Name
Where does the fault's name come from?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which US state does the San Andreas Fault cross?
Answer: California
It runs much of the state's length.
Q2: Which two plates meet along the fault?
Answer: Pacific and North American
They slide past each other.
Q3: What kind of fault is it?
Answer: A strike-slip transform fault
Motion is mostly sideways.
Q4: About how long is the fault?
Answer: About 1,200 kilometers
That is roughly 750 miles.
Q5: On average, how fast do the plates move past each other?
Answer: A few centimeters a year
Strain builds until it releases.
Q6: Which city was devastated by the 1906 earthquake on the fault?
Answer: San Francisco
Fires caused much of the damage.
Q7: What happens in the creeping section near Parkfield?
Answer: The fault slides slowly instead of locking
Scientists monitor it closely.
Q8: Which major quake struck the southern section in 1857?
Answer: Fort Tejon earthquake
It was about magnitude 7.9.
Q9: Where can visitors see the fault clearly on the surface?
Answer: The Carrizo Plain
Streams there are offset.
Q10: Where does the fault's name come from?
Answer: San Andreas Lake near San Francisco
Geologist Andrew Lawson named it.

San Andreas Fault Quiz – Plates, Creep and Big Quakes

The San Andreas Fault runs about 1,200 kilometers through California, marking where the Pacific Plate slides northwest past the North American Plate. It is a strike-slip transform fault, so the ground moves mostly sideways.

On average the plates move a few centimeters a year, but locked sections store strain and release it in big earthquakes. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1857 Fort Tejon quake were both around magnitude 7.9.

Near Parkfield the fault creeps slowly, and scientists study it closely. On the Carrizo Plain the fault is easy to see, and its name comes from San Andreas Lake, named by geologist Andrew Lawson.

What This Quiz Teaches

Earth science fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the fault runs
Which plates meet
How it moves
Which quakes it caused
Where to see it

Did You Know?

Los Angeles is slowly moving toward San Francisco.
Fences and roads crossing the fault can be offset.
Scientists drilled into the fault to study it.
Many smaller faults branch from it.
Earthquake drills are common in California schools.