The San Andreas fault is a tear fault in which the North American plate and the Pacific plate are sliding past each other. Diagram C shows this type of plate interaction.

Diagram A illustrates a subduction zone such as the Juan de Fuca plate subducting underneath the North American plate to produce the Coast Mountains and Cascade Range volcanoes.

Diagram B illustrates plate divergence such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge area or the Great African Rift Valley.

Diagram D appears to be a distracter.