What caused the earthquake in Christchurch?

What caused the earthquake in Christchurch?

Fault. GNS Science stated that the earthquake arose from the rupture of an 8 km x 8 km fault running east-northeast at a depth of 1–2 km beneath the southern edge of the Avon-Heathcote Estuary and dipping southwards at an angle of about 65 degrees from the horizontal beneath the Port Hills.”

What movement of tectonic plates cause earthquakes?

The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth’s crust and cause the shaking that we feel.

What damage was caused by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake?

The Christchurch earthquake caused extensive damage to infrastructure and buildings. Multiple buildings collapsed, and the city was impacted by burst water mains, flooding, liquefaction and power outages. The port was damaged, and many roads cracked.

What damage did the 2011 Christchurch earthquake cause?

What was the worst earthquake in New Zealand?

magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa earthquake
Historically, New Zealand has experienced many large earthquakes. The biggest NZ earthquake – magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa earthquake in 1855. On an international scale, the 1855 earthquake is of major significance in terms of the area affected and the amount of fault movement.

What was the cause of the earthquake in Christchurch?

In September 2010, Christchurch was shaken by the magnitude 7.1 Darfield earthquake, caused by movement along faults west of the city on the Canterbury Plains. The fault plane extends a few kilometres offshore, but not much fault movement occurred beneath the ocean. Click to see full answer

How is the Alpine Fault related to the Canterbury earthquake?

But these earthquakes were related to the pressure exerted between the two great plates, of which the Alpine Fault is the most explicit sign. Instead of fracturing at the boundary, these recent earthquakes involved fractures within fragments of the Pacific Plate on which Canterbury lies.

Where was the recent earthquake in New Zealand located?

So when earthquakes occur some of these are likely to be at this depth, which is sufficient to cushion some of the shaking. Wellington’s recent Magnitude 4.7 earthquake on 4 March 2011 was actually on the Pacific Plate lying underneath the Indo-Australian Plate at about 30 km depth.

Why is there a subduction zone near Christchurch?

This tectonic evolution is ongoing, and since the end of the subduction zone is now actually to the south of the southernmost and youngest of the Marlborough faults. Some of the plate boundary deformation is probably therefore being shunted into the region around Christchurch, where it needs to be accommodated by dextral strike-slip faulting.