Where is the Alpine Fault Line NZ?

Where is the Alpine Fault Line NZ?

South Island
The 850km Alpine Fault runs along the mountainous spine of the South Island, marking the boundary where the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates meet and grind against each other, forcing up the Southern Alps. Over the past 4,000 years, it has ruptured more than 20 times, on average around every 250 years.

What happens if the Alpine Fault goes?

An Alpine Fault earthquake will: Affect a much larger area than earthquakes such as the Darfield earthquake. The aftershock sequence could involve earthquakes of as much as M7 and continue for many years. Violent shaking will cause widespread landslides and weaken rock, making landslides more common for many years.

Where are the major fault lines in New Zealand?

The North Island Fault System or North Island Dextral Fault Belt is a set of southwest–northeast trending seismically-active faults in the North Island of New Zealand that carry most of the dextral (right lateral) strike-slip component of the oblique convergence of the Pacific Plate with the Australian Plate.

When was the last time the Alpine Fault ruptured?

1717
By analysing sediment deposited at two sites in Fiordland – John O’Groats and Hokuri Creek – during previous earthquakes, scientists have established that the Alpine Fault has ruptured 27 times over the last 8000 years. That’s every 300 years on average. The last significant quake on the Alpine Fault was in 1717.

What fault line is NZ on?

Alpine Fault
The Alpine Fault is a geological fault that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand’s South Island (c. 480 km) and forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. The Southern Alps have been uplifted on the fault over the last 12 million years in a series of earthquakes.

How old is the Alpine Fault?

The last major earthquake on the Alpine Fault was in c. 1717 AD, the probability of another one occurring within the next 50 years is estimated at about 75 percent….

Where is the Alpine Fault in New Zealand?

The Alpine Fault, which runs about 600km up the western side of the South Island between Milford Sound and Marlborough, poses one of the biggest natural threats to New Zealand.

Is there a chance of an earthquake on the Alpine Fault?

There’s a three-in-four chance a large magnitude 7-plus earthquake will strike along the South Island’s Alpine Fault within the next 50 years, new research has found – more than double what was previously estimated.

How big is the fault in the Alps?

The other is the 600km-long Alpine Fault, marked by the mountain range it’s pushed up with every violent rupture: the Southern Alps. Over about 12 million years, that’s amounted to an incredible 20km of uplift.

Who is the author of the Alpine Fault?

Photo / Alpine Fault Tours In an edited extract from his new book Down South, Bruce Ansley puts his life on the line and follows the Alpine Fault