Movements on Major Transcurrent Faults

Abstract

As a result of the work of Hodgson [1] and others, using Byerly's method for deriving fault plane characteristics from seismogram first motions, it has come to be recognized that roughly three-quarters or more of all tectonic earthquakes are generated on predominantly transcurrent or strike-slip faults. The reason for this late recognition of the preponderance of strike-slip movements is chiefly that the majority of great shallow earthquakes occur off the coast along the circum-Pacific arc and, consequently, their generating faults are thus not available for direct field study.