A global reanalysis of both short- and long-term deformation clarifies how obliquity affects strain partitioning in convergent plate boundaries.

The intersection of the deformation front with the SW-trending Nootka transform fault ... northern limit of the subduction zone. Megathrust events with magnitudes that may exceed 9 occur every 200-600 ...

In regions of convergence, one plate can sink under another in a subduction zone, or two colliding plates can form a mountain belt. At divergent boundaries, plates move away from each other and ...

The data also showed that segments of one of the tectonic plates in the subduction zone are smooth and flat, making it primed to cause stronger quakes because smoother boundaries make more contact ...