The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly 1300 km in California. It forms tectonic boundary between Pacific plate and North American Plate. Its motion is right-lateral strike-slip. It is divided into three segments, and each of this segments has different characteristics and different degree of earthquake risk. The most significant segment is the southern one, which passes within about 35 miles of Los Angeles. This fault was first identified by professor Andrew Lawson from the UC Berkley in 1895.
