The Alpine Fault
The Alpine Fault is a fault located in the South Island of New Zealand running through the middle for about 600 kilometers. The horizontal movement of this fault is about 30 meters per 100 years, which by global standards is very fast!
This fault has ruptured approximately four times in the past 900 years, each time producing an earthquake of about magnitude 8. Each time it has ruptured, it has moved vertically, lifting the Southern Alps in the process. In the last 12 million years they have lifted 20 kilometers!
The Alpine fault has a high probability (30%) of rupturing in the next 50 years. The rupture will produce one of the biggest earthquakes since European settlement in New Zealand and it will also have a major impact on the lives of people. In between earthquakes, the Alpine Fault is locked. All these things mean that the Alpine Fault is a globally significant geological structure.
A new fault was discovered after the February 22 Earthquake occurred in Christchurch. It was an extension off the Alpine fault and was also in the form of a strike slip fault.
This fault has ruptured approximately four times in the past 900 years, each time producing an earthquake of about magnitude 8. Each time it has ruptured, it has moved vertically, lifting the Southern Alps in the process. In the last 12 million years they have lifted 20 kilometers!
The Alpine fault has a high probability (30%) of rupturing in the next 50 years. The rupture will produce one of the biggest earthquakes since European settlement in New Zealand and it will also have a major impact on the lives of people. In between earthquakes, the Alpine Fault is locked. All these things mean that the Alpine Fault is a globally significant geological structure.
A new fault was discovered after the February 22 Earthquake occurred in Christchurch. It was an extension off the Alpine fault and was also in the form of a strike slip fault.