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Story: Earthquakes

Plate boundary through New Zealand

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Plate boundary through New Zealand

The boundary (pink line) between the Australian and Pacific plates is marked by the Kermadec Trench and the Alpine Fault. All of the North Island, the northern South Island, and a thin strip along the west coast of the South Island are on the Australian Plate, west of the boundary. The rest of the South Island, to the east of the boundary, is on the Pacific Plate. The yellow and pale brown areas are continental crust.

Using this item

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: GNS Science

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How to cite this page

Eileen McSaveney, Earthquakes – What causes earthquakes?, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/4398/plate-boundary-through-new-zealand (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 August 2017.

Comments

Justin matthews
07 October 2015
this site helped a lot, I was wondering if you knew what direction is the Australian and the pacific plates moving and what is the result of this.