Plate Tectonics
New Zealand is located on the boundary between two of the Earth's great tectonic plates - the Australian and the Pacific. Tectonic plates behave like rigid shells that slide over the surface of a sphere.
Broadly speaking, the Australian plate is heading north while the Pacific plate is heading west. The combination of these motions means that the Pacific plate, which includes much of the South Island, is moving relative to the Australian plate at a rate of about 40 millimetres each year in a southwesterly direction. So Christchurch is moving away from Auckland about 4 metres every century.
Downloads/Videos
- Deformation of New Zealand
- Pushing New Zealand's Boundaries
- Christchurch Earthquake - first flyover of fault trace
Our Research:
- NZ Active Deformation - Modelling of crustal movement.
- Subduction and fore-arc processes - with a focus on the Hikurangi margin.
- Continental collision processes - Using the Southern Alps and the Alpine Fault as examples.
Learn More:
- The plate boundary zone in New Zealand – sitting astride the boundary of two major tectonic plates.
- Deformation of New Zealand – view velocity models, strain rate maps and a deformation movie.
- Measuring deformation – from historical surveys to continuous GPS, including project examples.
