Stress fields of the San Andreas and Queen Charlotte transform faults

Analytic solutions to the stress fields resulting from the San Andreas and Queen Charlotte transform faults may be found by applying conformal mappings to the generalized plane stress solution of stresses in a half-plane. The mean stress fields (one-half the trace of the stress tensor) found in this manner show a similarity to the deformation found in western Canada and the western United States. The results refute the hypothesis that Alaska acts as a continental buttress against deformation of the Canadian Cordillera. Moreover, these results imply that the differences in the tectonics of major transform boundaries are caused primarily by differences in lithospheric structure and differences in stress distribution along the plate boundaries.