At 10.17 am on Monday, 17 June, an earthquake shook New Zealand from Auckland to Dunedin, and was measured at 7.8 on the Richter Scale. It was the worst since the 1855 Wellington earthquake, and the first to cause a large number of deaths.

The earthquake centre was in the Lyell Range, just west of Murchison. A piece of land 75 kilometres long and 30 metres wide was lifted by almost half a metre. 17 people died in the earthquake, many as a result of the landslips and the floods they created.

More

New Zealand GeoNet Project
On this website you can see where the latest earthquakes have been centred around New Zealand.




GNS - Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences
Learn about earthquakes, check out what's happening today with the volcano cam and download some cool screensavers.




Mt Tarawera Eruption 1886
The eighth wonder of the world - the famous pink and white terraces of Lake Rotomahana were lost forever after the eruption of Mt Tarawera in 1886.