THe cause of the christchurch earthquake
The earthquake that occurred in 2011 in Christchurch was measured at 6.3 on the Richter Scale. Christ church is on the east coast of the South Island in New Zealand. The 2011 earthquake occurred at 12:51 pm on the 22 of February, which means that there were a lot of people out at school and work.
The earthquake occurred 10 km south-east of the city and about 5 km below ground on the Alphine fault line which is a strike-slip fault line. The Alphine fault line extends from Greymouth and disappears about 12 km in the ocean north of Milford. The Alphine fault is located on the Indo-Australian plate. New Zealand is also located on the Indo-Australian plate. The Alphine Fault has fractured 4 times throughout the last 1000 years. This has occurred at an interval of 150-350 years.