GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -New Zealand lies at the edge of both the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates. To the northeast of New Zealand, and underneath North Island, the Pacific Plate is moving towards, and being subducted below the Australian Plate .

Detailed explanation-2: -New Zealand is currently astride the convergent boundary between the Pacific and Australian Plates.

Detailed explanation-3: -The Hikurangi tectonic plate boundary is a convergent boundary. This means that the Australian and Pacific plates are pushing against each other. There are two kinds of plates – oceanic and continental plates.

Detailed explanation-4: -The Pacific Plate is almost entirely oceanic crust, but it contains some continental crust in New Zealand, Baja California, and coastal California.

Detailed explanation-5: -All of the North Island, the northern South Island, and a thin strip along the west coast of the South Island are on the Australian Plate, west of the boundary. The rest of the South Island, to the east of the boundary, is on the Pacific Plate. The yellow and pale brown areas are continental crust.