Wellington Fault
| Wellington Fault | |
|---|---|
The Wellington Fault runs under California Drive in Totara Park, Upper Hutt. The road has been built extra wide with a central median to keep houses back from the fault line. | |
Map of active Wellington Fault traces (red) | |
| Etymology | Duke of Wellington |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Wellington Region |
| Cities | Wellington |
| Characteristics | |
| Range | Up to 8 Mw |
| Segments | multiple |
| Length | 170 km (110 mi) |
| Displacement | Up to 7.6 mm (0.30 in)/year |
| Tectonics | |
| Plate | Australian |
| Status | Active |
| Type | Dextral fault |
| Age | Miocene-Holocene |
| New Zealand geology database (includes faults) | |
The Wellington Fault is an active seismic fault in the southern part of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a dextral (right-lateral) strike-slip fault with variable amounts of vertical movement causing uplift to the northwest, as expressed by a series of ranges. It forms part of the North Island Fault System, which accommodates the transfer of displacement along the oblique convergent boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and Pacific Plate.