Tamayo Fault
Encyclopedia
The Tamayo Fault is a major right lateral-moving transform fault
located on the seabed at the mouth of the Gulf of California
. The fault is the southernmost transform in the Gulf of California Rift Zone
. The fault links the Rivera Ridge segment of the East Pacific Rise
in the south with the Alarcon Basin
in the north.
Transform fault
A transform fault or transform boundary, also known as conservative plate boundary since these faults neither create nor destroy lithosphere, is a type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction. Furthermore, transform faults end abruptly...
located on the seabed at the mouth of the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
. The fault is the southernmost transform in the Gulf of California Rift Zone
Gulf of California Rift Zone
The Gulf of California Rift Zone is the northernmost extension of the East Pacific Rise which extends some 1300 km from the mouth of the Gulf of California to the southern terminus of the San Andreas Fault at the Salton Sink....
. The fault links the Rivera Ridge segment of the East Pacific Rise
East Pacific Rise
The East Pacific Rise is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic plate boundary located along the floor of the Pacific Ocean. It separates the Pacific Plate to the west from the North American Plate, the Rivera Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Nazca Plate, and the Antarctic Plate...
in the south with the Alarcon Basin
Alarcon Basin
The Alarcon Basin is a submarine depression located on the seabed at the southern end of the Gulf of California. The basin results from the activity of the southernmost spreading center in the Gulf. This spreading center has also produced the southernmost oceanic rift in the Gulf of California...
in the north.