In the context of plate tectonics, what type of boundary is characterized by plates sliding past one another horizontally without creating or destroying lithosphere?

💡 Solution & Explanation

Transform fault boundaries are conservative plate margins where lithospheric plates slide horizontally past one another without creating new crust or destroying old crust. The San Andreas Fault in California is a classic textbook example of this lateral shearing motion. Divergent and convergent boundaries involve the creation and destruction of crust respectively.