Why does New Zealand have so many earthquakes?
Earthquakes in New Zealand are due to the country being part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is a 40,000km horseshoe-shaped string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity around the edges of the Pacific Ocean which has occurred as a result of plate tectonics. Around 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.
New Zealand is prone to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary of two of the world’s largest tectonic plates – the Pacific plate to the east and the Australian plate to the west with the boundary running diagonally through the country. The occurrence of earthquakes tends to be more concentrated at the edges of tectonic plates as this is where energy builds up as the plates move. That energy is then released in the form of an earthquake. New Zealand is situated over two subduction zones where one plate dips under the other. To the south of the South Island, the Australian plate dips under the Pacific plate whereas, in the North, the Pacific plate dips under the Australian plate. This movement of the plates against each other means that New Zealand is a highly active earthquake zone.
New Zealand is prone to earthquakes because it straddles the boundary of two of the world’s largest tectonic plates – the Pacific plate to the east and the Australian plate to the west with the boundary running diagonally through the country. The occurrence of earthquakes tends to be more concentrated at the edges of tectonic plates as this is where energy builds up as the plates move. That energy is then released in the form of an earthquake. New Zealand is situated over two subduction zones where one plate dips under the other. To the south of the South Island, the Australian plate dips under the Pacific plate whereas, in the North, the Pacific plate dips under the Australian plate. This movement of the plates against each other means that New Zealand is a highly active earthquake zone.