 Where plate boundaries occur within the continental lithosphere, deformation is spread out over a much larger area than the plate boundary itself.In the case of the San Andreas fault continental transform, many earthquakes occur away from the plate boundary and are related to strains developed within the broader zone of deformation caused by major irregularities in the fault trace (e.g., the "Big bend" region).The Northridge earthquake was associated with movement on a blind thrust within such a zone.