Why Christchurch?
Canterbury is a seismically active region in the South Island of New Zealand and has been shaken by many earthquakes in the past.
It is situated on the Pacific Plate to the east of the Southern Alps. The Alpine fault, a major fault boundary that passes through the South Island, is located to the west of the Southern Alps.
A previously unknown, complex fault system under Canterbury and extending under Banks Peninsula and into Pegasus Bay has been revealed by the sequence of earthquakes over the 2010-2012 period.
These faults are absorbing and accumulating stress from tectonic plate activity at the Pacific/Australian plate boundary and will occasionally release the built up energy as earthquakes.
New surface faults have developed in the region such as the Greendale fault responsible for the Darfield earthquake on September 4th 2010, and the pattern of aftershocks has revealed the existence of previously unknown underground faults. The underground fault responsible for the Christchurch 22nd February 2011 earthquake has been named the Port Hills fault and is approximately 1-2kms below the surface of the ground.
It is situated on the Pacific Plate to the east of the Southern Alps. The Alpine fault, a major fault boundary that passes through the South Island, is located to the west of the Southern Alps.
A previously unknown, complex fault system under Canterbury and extending under Banks Peninsula and into Pegasus Bay has been revealed by the sequence of earthquakes over the 2010-2012 period.
These faults are absorbing and accumulating stress from tectonic plate activity at the Pacific/Australian plate boundary and will occasionally release the built up energy as earthquakes.
New surface faults have developed in the region such as the Greendale fault responsible for the Darfield earthquake on September 4th 2010, and the pattern of aftershocks has revealed the existence of previously unknown underground faults. The underground fault responsible for the Christchurch 22nd February 2011 earthquake has been named the Port Hills fault and is approximately 1-2kms below the surface of the ground.