Earthquakes in New

Zealand
Adam Hogge
Sam Knickerbocker
Marlo Matamoros
Alicia Naegle
Angel Serrano

Introduction of Topics
1. Background
2. Glaciers
3. Liquefaction
4. Faults
http://shakeout.org/utah/register/

New Zealand
General Geography: New Zealand is located in
the Southeast of Australia and is encompassed
by the Ocean. Its Capital is Wellington and is
placed near the south end of its North island.
New Zealand is comprised of the north island,
with its native name of Te ika a Maui and the
south island that goes by Pounamu, also
included are several smaller islands that are
near the shore, this makes it an archipelago. Its
total land area is about 103,733 square miles
and has a coastline of 9,404 miles. New
Zealand is made up of 29 regions.

Culture
New Zealand has many natural attractions
including mountains, subtropical forests, white
sand beaches, active volcanoes, geothermal
pools and geysers. New Zealand also offers its
amazing culture of the indigenous Maori with
their traditions that include dance and art.

Places
The historic lighthouse standing at the tip of Cape Reinga located in the subtropical far north of the
Bay of islands and Northland. Also houses the Kauri forests of the west, and includes white sandy
beaches. One of the greatest impacts of climate change is likely to be on water resources, with
higher rainfall in the west and less in the north and east. Climate change is expected to cause more
frequent extreme weather events such as droughts and floods (Ministry for the Environment).

Happenings in New Zealand

New Zealand is on the boundary between two
plates called the Australian Plate and the Pacific
Plate. In the Wellington area several major faults
are spread out parallel to each other, including
the infamous Wellington Fault. Wellington and
Queenstown alike are full of culture, but both are
subject to potential high magnitude earthquakes.
Still Queenstown is known as an 'adventure
capital' and draws in an abundance of tourists
who are looking for a variety of outdoor activities.
New Zealand is also the home of the hobbits.
Hamilton, Waikato known for its vast farming
regions and beautiful plains is where the famous
"Lord of the Rings" trilogy films were filmed.

Glaciers of New Zealand

Themes of Geography
Location: The glaciers of New Zealand
cap the Southern Alps on the west side of
the south island.
Place: The Glaciers melt slowly each
year, causing avalanches, large rivers
and beautiful lakes. there are few human
characteristics close to the glaciers,
however the rivers flow to the east of the
island where most of the urban
development is.
Regions: Most of the east stretch of the
south island is used for agriculture, and
the west is mountain range that provides
the water.

Themes Continued
Movement:In the Southern Alps glaciers produce a lot of movement for
New Zealand, due to tourism it brings new ideas and cultures.
Human/Environment Interactions:The People of New Zealand rely on
the waters source for agriculture and tourism income. They have built
helipads for giving tours of the glaciers.

Glaciers, secondary effects of an

earthquake

When there is an earthquake near the Southern Alps in New Zealand the secondary effects can be majestic
in nature. The glaciers that have been built over thousands of years crack each time there is an earthquake.
As the glaciers crack, about once every 30 years typically after a larger earthquake, a huge piece of the
glacier will separate causing an avalanche. The avalanche will carry many stones and debris down the
canyon, into the rivers which eventually becomes the alluvial soil that the cities on the east coast are built on,
which makes the earth liquify and cause flooding and catastrophic structural damage to the buildings. In
some cases when the glacier splits, it falls into one of the nearby lakes. This happened in 2011, a 30 millionton piece fell off into Lake Tasman, causing a ten foot wave to hit the shoreline.

Liquefaction
Definition: Liquefaction is a
phenomenon in which strength and
stiffness of a soil is reduced by
earthquake shaking or other rapid
loading.
What is the Soil Liquefaction?
When water-saturated sandy layers
of earth act like liquids due to the
pressure created by earthquakes.

Liquefaction- Effects and Preventions

Effects of Liquefaction?

Caused damage to all of Christchurch

especially the Eastern part

Sunk many building and cars

Damaged thousands of homes

Messed up the sewage

How can we prevent it?

Avoid construction on susceptible soils

Improve the strength, density, and

drainage characteristics of the soil

Place buildings on concrete pillars

Major Faults In New Zealand

-

Wellington Fault
North Island
Series of parallel fault lines
Continuous line from Bay of Plenty to the
Wellington Coast
Responsible for Mountain Range
7-8 Magnitude
Runs right through center of capital city of
Wellington

http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-inNew-Zealand/Wellington-Fault

Major Faults In New Zealand

-

Alpine Fault
South Island
Series of major parallel faults
Carries most of the plate boundary
(Australian and Pacific Plate)
Southern Alps are a major mountain
range
High risk of producing a major earthquake
in next 50 years

http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-inNew-Zealand/Alpine-Fault/Alpine-Fault-earthquakes

The Role of Faults in Earthquakes

-

The Southern Alps are

formed in a direct correlation
to the Alpine Fault
The Australian and Pacific
Plate (both continental
crusts) collide upwards and
the section is the Alpine
Fault.
Because of the mountains
the faults have created have
grown so tall, New Zealand
receives a lot of snow.

Five Themes Impact

-

Earthquake Insurance since 1946

Provides primary funding for the GeoNet
Monitoring Network
The Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency
Management is responsible for aid in any
catastrophe
New Zealand has a population of 4.6 million
and a diverse terrain of mountains, plains,
hills, subtropical forests, glaciers, coastlines
of sand and rock and volcanic plateaus which
could make it difficult to predict the outcome
if ever there was a major earthquake.
28 hour drive from North panhandle to South
beach of NZ. Same time from Miami, FL to
the tip of Maine (passing through Washington
DC, Philly, and NY)

Handout Answers
Across
4. What is the fault line located in the South Island of NZ? ALPINE FAULT
7. Glaciers cap these NZ mountains. SOUTHERN ALPS
9. What is known as the 'adventure capital' in NZ? QUEENSTOWN
10. The country we are focusing in for our presentation. NEW ZEALAND
Down
1. This is what happens when water-saturated sandy earth acts like liquid
due to pressure from earthquakes. LIQUEFACTION
2. Most of the Southern Island makes up this tectonic plate. PACIFIC PLATE
3. What is one secondary effect of earthquakes in the southern alps? GLACIERS CRACK
5. All of the Northern Island and a piece of the Southern Island makes up this
tectonic plate. AUSTRALIAN PLATE
6. What is the fault line located in the North Island of NZ? WELLINGTON FAULT
8. This is a huge tourist attraction in NZ, where the hobbits live in The Lord of the Rings. THE
SHIRE

References
http://www.geonet.org.nz/quakes/statistics
http://info.geonet.org.nz/display/quake/Earthquake+FAQ
https://www.climatechange.govt.nz/physical-impacts-and-adaptation/
http://media.newzealand.com/en/story-ideas/new-zealand-regions/wellington/
"Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand." New Zealand Glaciers Glaciers and Glaciation . Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/map/10727/new-zealand-glaciers>.
"Across Oceania." Across Oceania. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://www.acrossoceania.com/destinations/new-zealand/glacier/>.
Earthquake Shakes Ice from New Zealand Glacier : Image of the Day." Earthquake Shakes Ice from New Zealand Glacier : Image of the Day.
Web. 13 Apr. 2015. <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=49553>.
"Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand." Moraine, Tasman Glacier Glaciers and Glaciation . Web. 13 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/10730/moraine-tasman-glacier>.
<http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-in-New-Zealand/Wellington-Fault>
<http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Earthquakes/Major-Faults-in-New-Zealand/Alpine-Fault/Alpine-Fault-earthquakes>
<http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/earthquakes/>
<http://populationpyramid.net/new-zealand/2015/>
<http://www.newzealand.com/us/feature/new-zealand-geography-and-geology/>
<https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/05/93/ba/0593ba1f90496eb762443ed38d51d19c.jpg>