Wairau Fault
| Wairau Fault | |
|---|---|
Map of the Marlborough Fault System with Wairau Fault in light purple | |
| Etymology | Wairau River |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Marlborough |
| Characteristics | |
| Range | up to 7.7 MW |
| Length | 200 km (120 mi) |
| Displacement | 3.5 mm (0.14 in)/year |
| Tectonics | |
| Plate | Indo-Australian, Pacific |
| Status | Active |
| Earthquakes | prehistoric |
| Type | Strike-slip fault |
| Movement | Dextral/convergent, east side up |
| Age | Miocene-Holocene |
| Orogeny | Kaikoura |
| New Zealand geology database (includes faults) | |
The Wairau Fault is an active dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault in the northeastern part of South Island, New Zealand. It forms part of the Marlborough fault system, which accommodates the transfer of displacement along the oblique convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian plate and Pacific plate, from the transform Alpine Fault to the Hikurangi Trough subduction zone.