What kind of fault typically occurs at transform boundaries?

At transform boundaries, tectonic plates slide past each other horizontally. This lateral movement is characteristic of a strike-slip fault, which is the correct answer. In a strike-slip fault, the motion is primarily horizontal, with each side of the fault moving in opposite directions along the fault line. This type of fault can create significant earthquakes as the stress builds up and is eventually released when the rocks slip past each other.

Normal faults, on the other hand, are found at divergent boundaries where the crust is being pulled apart, causing one block of rock to move down relative to another. Reverse faults, conversely, occur at convergent boundaries where two plates collide, pushing one block up over another. Oblique slip faults exhibit both vertical and horizontal movement and can occur in various settings, but they are not typical of purely transform boundaries. Therefore, the unique mechanism of movement associated with strike-slip faults aligns perfectly with the dynamics present at transform plate boundaries.