San Andreas Fault - Evolution

Evolution

The evolution of the San Andreas dates back to the mid Cenozoic, to about 30 Mya (million years ago). At this time, a spreading center between the Pacific Plate and the Farallon Plate (which is now mostly subducted, with remnants including the Juan de Fuca Plate, Rivera Plate, Cocos Plate, and the Nazca Plate) was beginning to interact with the subduction zone off the western coast of North America. The relative motion between the Pacific and North American Plates was different from the relative motion between the Farallon and North American Plates, so when the spreading ridge was "subducted", a new relative motion caused a new style of deformation. This style is chiefly the San Andreas Fault, but also includes a possible driver for the deformation of the Basin and Range, separation of Baja California, and rotation of the Transverse Range.

The San Andreas Fault proper, at least the Southern Segment, has only existed for about 5 million years. The first known incarnation of the southern part of the fault was Clemens Well-Fenner-San Francisquito fault zone around 22–13 Ma. This system added the San Gabriel Fault as a primary focus of movement between 10–5 Ma. Currently, it is believed that the modern San Andreas will eventually transfer its motion toward a fault within the Eastern California Shear Zone. This complicated evolution, especially along the southern segment, is mostly caused by either the "Big Bend" and/or a difference in the motion vector between the plates and the trend of the fault(s).