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Story: Active faults

The Alpine Fault

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The Alpine Fault

The Alpine Fault forms the western edge of the Southern Alps. There have been repeated earthquake ruptures on the Alpine Fault every few hundred years. Usually producing uplifts of only a few metres at a time, the cumulative effect has been to create this mountain range over the last million years.

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GNS Science

Reference: CN06053

by Lloyd Homer

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

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How to cite this page

Eileen McSaveney, Active faults – What is an active fault?, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4346/the-alpine-fault (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 2 March 2009.