Where is the fault line on the west coast?

Just north of the San Andreas, however, lies another fault line. Known as the Cascadia subduction zone, it runs for seven hundred miles off the coast of the Pacific Northwest, beginning near Cape Mendocino, California, continuing along Oregon and Washington, and terminating around Vancouver Island, Canada.

Does New Zealand sit on a fault line?

Pressure is building along one of the most active fault lines in the world and New Zealand is in a race to be ready. The Alpine Fault runs along the country’s South Island and it has a history of sudden movements.

Which New Zealand cities are at risk of an earthquake?

The largest city within the highest-risk zone is the nation’s capital, Wellington, followed by Napier then Hastings. All these cities have experienced severe earthquakes since European settlement. About 14,000 earthquakes occur in and around the country each year, of which between 150 and 200 are big enough to be felt.

Where in NZ gets the most earthquakes?

The zone where the strongest shaking is likely corresponds to the southern part of the Alpine Fault, extending along the Hope Fault into Marlborough. The 2010–11 Canterbury earthquakes are outside the areas of greatest statistical risk of high ground shaking.

What cities will be affected by the big one?

The ‘Big One’ is a hypothetical earthquake of magnitude ~8 or greater that is expected to happen along the SAF. Such a quake will produce devastation to human civilization within about 50-100 miles of the SAF quake zone, especially in urban areas like Palm Springs, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Where is the fault line in NZ?

The North Island Fault System runs in a line from the Bay of Plenty to the Wellington coast and is responsible for creating the Kaweka, Ruahine, Tararua and Rimutaka mountain ranges. Several major faults run alongside and within this system, including the Wellington Fault.

Is New Zealand overdue for earthquake?

Two tectonic plates meet beneath New Zealand’s west coast. Scientific analysis shows there’s been a major earthquake along the fault line every 300 years, and NZ is overdue.

Where is the safest place in NZ?

Wellington is New Zealand’s safest large city. Older children regularly cross the city on public transport to get to school. And Wellington’s diversity means all expats can find their community.

Which NZ island is safer?

the South Island
As such, when it comes to the threat of volcanoes, the South Island is considered safer than the North Island. New Zealand’s prevailing western winds make it unlikely that volcanic ash from a North Island eruption would drift as far as the South Island.

Where are New Zealand’s fault lines?

The Alpine Fault is a geological fault that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand’s South Island (c. 480 km) and forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. The Southern Alps have been uplifted on the fault over the last 12 million years in a series of earthquakes.

Where about 80% of all earthquakes occur?

the Pacific Ocean
The world’s greatest earthquake belt, the circum-Pacific seismic belt, is found along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where about 81 percent of our planet’s largest earthquakes occur. It has earned the nickname “Ring of Fire”.

Where is the most active fault line?

The Ring of Fire is the largest and most active fault line in the world, stretching from New Zealand, all around the east coast of Asia, over to Canada and the USA and all the way down to the southern tip of South America and causes more than 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes.

Which part of New Zealand has no earthquake?

Nowhere in the South Island is quake- free, with the Alpine fault slashing through the west, and minor faults zig- zagging through central Otago, Queenstown, Dunedin and Christchurch. All up, GNS has mapped about 530 fault lines in the country – not including the sneaky little lines, or the offshore plates.

Where in New Zealand has no earthquakes?

Where in New Zealand has the least earthquakes?

Areas close to the Alpine Fault carry the highest risk (zone 4), while the northwest North Island (including Auckland) and southeast South Island (including Dunedin) carry the lowest risk (zone 1).

How many fault lines are in NZ?

eight
The North Island Fault System consists of eight main fault strands and many smaller related faults.

Where are they no earthquakes?

Antarctica has the least earthquakes of any continent, but small earthquakes can occur anywhere in the World.