Skip to main content

Kōrero: Historic earthquakes

Liquefaction

Image
Liquefaction

Liquefaction occurs during earthquakes when the underlying geology of water-saturated loose sand and silt is shaken and turns to a mush. Areas especially prone to liquefaction include former river channels, wetlands, and ponds. In places where the surface has ruptured, sand and silt can be forced out of the ground. This occurred at the Kaiapoi Croquet Club where surveyor Angelique Zajac is seen measuring the trace of large cracks on Friday 10 September, almost a week after the quake.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

GNS Science

by Nicola Litchfield

Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Eileen McSaveney, Historic earthquakes – The 2010 Canterbury (Darfield) earthquake, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/31157/liquefaction (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Eileen McSaveney, i tāngia i te 21 February 2013, updated 1 November 2017.