My following travels led me to New Zealand. Now I understand why they film so many movies here for the landscape: it’s so beautiful here. Everywhere I look, the scenery is breathtaking: the water, the trees, and especially, the mountains. The Southern Alps stretch along the Southern Island, but how did they get here? You’re about to find out.
The Alpine Fault runs through the Southern Island of New Zealand from the latitude of 44°S – 42°S and the longitude of 168°E - 173°E. It’s the transform boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. Transform boundaries mean that plates are moving side to side against each other, instead of colliding with one another or splitting apart. Earthquakes occur on this fault, from the plates sliding against each other, and have formed the Southern Alps.
The Alpine Fault has had 5 major earthquakes in the past century—the most recent occurring in 2009. Aside from direct earthquakes, there has been four large ruptures along the fault line, which can offshoot high magnitude earthquakes. From looking at the time of past ruptures, scientists predict that the next major rupture could happen at any time, since it has been the longest time between ruptures in the last thousand years.
Even though the Alpine Fault can cause earthquakes and ruptures, it also shapes New Zealand. As you can see, the abrupt switch from high to low elevation makes for a dramatic landscape.
It’s beautiful, and I wish everyone could see it!
-Carly
I really love what you're doing here. The pictures make it look breathtaking. Just one quick question though...How did you get the checklist thing at the bottom of your posts?
ReplyDeleteYou go under "Design," and click on the "Edit" button under the Blog Posts box. On there, you can check off the box next to "Reactions"
ReplyDeleteHope that helps!