I think the general public often has the idea that there is a fault line - it's about one foot wide and it separates the north american plate from the pacific plate...

When in reality, the plate boundary is a miles wide area, with several faults involved, strike-slip and thrust... all to make up for the plate motions.. more of 'the big picture'... (Lots of rubber blocks all set against each other)

I don't know if this helps any...

Canie