Wellington Fault

Wellington Fault
The Wellington Fault runs under California Drive in Totara Park, Upper Hutt. The road has been built extra wide with a central median to keep houses back from the fault line.
Map
 
Map of active Wellington Fault traces (red)
EtymologyDuke of Wellington
CountryNew Zealand
RegionWellington Region
CitiesWellington
Characteristics
RangeUp to 8 Mw[1]
Segmentsmultiple
Length170 km (110 mi)[2]
DisplacementUp to 7.6 mm (0.30 in)/year[2]
Tectonics
PlateAustralian
StatusActive
TypeDextral fault
AgeMiocene-Holocene
New Zealand geology database (includes faults)
Wellington Fault (blue) in context main strands of the North Island Fault System.

The Wellington Fault is an active seismic fault in the southern part of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a dextral (right-lateral) strike-slip fault with variable amounts of vertical movement causing uplift to the northwest, as expressed by a series of ranges. It forms part of the North Island Fault System, which accommodates the transfer of displacement along the oblique convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and Pacific Plate.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference van Dissen was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Langridge was invoked but never defined (see the help page).