* Seismic Waves and Seismic Eruption are free demonstration
programs available at: binghamton.edu Transform- two plates
slide past each other. In this aerial view of the San Andreas
Fault (transform) the trees in the orchard (dots) have been
offset by the slipping of the plates. The Pacific Plate is to
the left and the North American to the right. This picture shows
how things like fences, roads, rivers and buildings can be
offset by the sliding of the plates. The exception to this
arrangement are "Hot Spots" which are plumes of hot material
(rather than belts) in the middle of plates. These spots stay
stationary while the plate moves above it. The spot melts
through the plate like a blow torch and produces a volcano above
it. As the plate moves, the spot melts through another spot
producing a chain of volcanic islands. Hawaii is an example of a
hot spot island chain. The movement of the plates is caused by
convection currents deep within the Earth. The force that moves
the plates around the earth are convect