The magnitude 8 Wairarapa, New Zealand, earthquake of 1855 was associated with surface rupture along the Wairarapa fault and regional uplift of the southwest of the North Island. ", National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Charles Lyell and the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake in New Zealand: Recognition of fault rupture accompanying an earthquake, Terminations of large strike-slip faults: an alternative model from New Zealand, Hope Fault, Jordan Thrust, and uplift of the Seaward Kaikoura Range, New Zealand, "World's largest coseismic strike-slip offset: The 1855 rupture of the Wairarapa Fault, New Zealand, and implications for displacement/length scaling of continental earthquakes", "Massive earthquake hits southern North Island", "Historic earthquakes – The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake", Canterbury Earthquake Response and Recovery Act 2010, Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building, Canterbury Earthquake Commemoration Day Act 2011, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1855_Wairarapa_earthquake&oldid=1011318425, Start-date transclusions with invalid parameters, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 10 March 2021, at 07:14. [7] Reports identify at least another four people (possibly as many as eight) as having died in the surrounding countryside during the earthquake. (Maori elders said there was no record in their traditions of an earlier shock which was as great.) That experience was to serve the town well when the next larger earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded in New Zealand, struck on 23 January 1855. M 8.2 Wairarapa Tue, Jan 23 1855 The 1855 earthquake is the most severe earthquake to have occurred in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840. 3. In Wellington, close to the epicenter, shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. Numerous landslides were reported along the slopes of the Rimutaka Range. [3] A group of dextral strike-slip structures, known as the Marlborough Fault System, transfer displacement between the mainly transform and convergent type plate boundaries in a complex zone at the northern end of the South Island. licensed under a Creative Commons The earthquake originated on the Wairarapa Fault and caused extensive faulting and uplift in epicentral areas. 2007; Townend, Langridge & Jones 2005) . The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m., affecting much of the Cook Strait area of New Zealand, including Marlborough in the South Island and Wellington and Wairarapa in the North Island. The earthquake was followed by many aftershocks, some of which were very damaging. From an intensity of 9 close to the epicentre in the Wairarapa, the isoseismal lines radiate outwards, recording the impact over much of central New Zealand. caused by movement along at least 140 kilometres of the Wairarapa Fault, along the eastern edge of the Rimutaka Range. The uplift of the northwestern side of Wellington Harbour rendered many of the jetties in the harbour unusable, although this new area of land provided a new rail and road route to the north. The shock was felt across almost the whole country, and was highly destructive in Wellington (MM 10), and severely damaging in Whanganui and Kaikoura. The text of the entry was as follows: Did you know... that the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake was the most powerful earthquake in New Zealand? Painting of landslip caused by 1855 earthquake near Wellington (Alexander Turnbull Library, B-103-016) The magnitude 8.2 earthquake had a profound impact on the development of Wellington city. GeoNet is a collaboration between the Earthquake In Wellington, close to the epicenter, shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. It has been suggested that this was caused by the rupture propagating down to where the fault links through to the top of the subducting Pacific Plate. [Gold, Charles Emilius 1809-1871. The best defined extent of the 1855 earthquake rupture occurs in central Wairarapa Valley (central segment) with short lines representing subvertical fault traces south of Lake Wairarapa (southern segment) to the coast, and possible 1855-activated faults NE of Mauriceville (northern segment) (modified after Grapes & Downes 1997, fig. In the North Island the displacement is mainly taken up along the Kermadec subduction zone, although the remaining dextral strike-slip component of the relative plate motion is accommodated by the North Island Fault System (NIFS). In the South Island most of the relative displacement between these plates is taken up along a single dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault with a major reverse component, the Alpine Fault. The geological effects of the 1855 Wairarapa New Zealand earthquake with an estimated magnitude of Mw 8.2–8.4 provided Charles Lyell with direct evidence of the relationship between earthquakes, fault rupturing, regional uplift and subsidence. Using Lidar data, we examine its bare-earth morphology and reveal ~650 mostly undiscovered offset geomorphic markers. The earthquake was associated with the rupturing of approximately 150 km (93 mi) of the Wairarapa Fault. The magnitude 8.2 shake which lasted 50 seconds was caused by movement along the Wairarapa Fault, the land rising more than six metres in places, while the lateral movement exceeded 12 metres. In Wellington, close to the epicenter, shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. Commission, Creative Commons Although the later Murchison and Napier earthquakes claimed more lives, neither created the geological upheaval wrought by the Wairarapa earthquake of 1855." Significant uplift also occurred in Wellington City, most noticeably around Wellington Harbour, altering the city's shoreline considerably. [5] Geomorphological evidence, particularly the uplifted beach ridges observed at Turakirae Head, appears to record three previous coseismic uplifts of the Rimutaka Range caused by earthquakes similar in magnitude to the 1855 event, with a recurrence interval of about 2200 years.[6]. The Wairarapa Fault Darby and Beanland (1992) attempted to model the (limited) data on surface deformation due to the 1855 Wairarapa M 8.2 earthquake and suggested that a listric Wairarapa Fault was possible, the dip (to the NW) becoming progressively less steep at depth (fig. The 1855 Rupture of the Wairarapa Fault [7] Historic accounts indicate that the 1855 earthquake ruptured the Wairarapa Fault, causing intense shaking (maximum of X on Modified Mercalli scale) widespread landsliding (especially in the Rimutaka Range), and surface faulting [Grapes and Downes, 1997]. [Denton, Frank J, 1869-1963. The 1855 Wairarapa, New Zealand, earthquake: Analysis of historical data. The shaking also created numerous slump cracks in flat areas of Wellington, the Hutt Valley, Wairarapa, and in the Manawatu district. "Initial results show that one of these landslides in particular occurred recently, and may have been caused by the magnitude 8.2 Wairarapa earthquake in 1855." After the 1989 San Francisco Bay Earthquake it … The first shoreline inland from the present day coast is where the shoreline was in 1855, before the area was uplifted by the Wairarapa earthquake. The magnitude 8 Wairarapa, New Zealand, earthquake of 1855 was associated with surface rupture along the Wairarapa fault and regional uplift of the southwest of the North Island. There is strong evidence that the earthquake generated a local tsunami and it is also possible that small tsunami accompanied some aftershocks. New Zealand lies along the boundary between the Australian and Pacific Plates. "New Zealand's largest earthquake in European times struck the centre of the country almost 150 years ago. In these areas the earthquake also triggered sandblows and the eruption of groundwater at the surface, the result of massive pressure increases underground that were caused by the shaking. 37). Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License, Earthquake [1] This earthquake was associated with the largest observed movement on a strike-slip fault, maximum 18 metres (59 ft). The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m., affecting much of the Cook Strait area of New Zealand, including Marlborough in the South Island and Wellington and Wairarapa in the North Island. This event also remains to be the largest known earthquake to have occurred in New Zealand’s history with an estimated magnitude between 8.0 and 8.2 (Dawe et al. Bulletin of the New Zealand National Society for Earthquake Engineering 30(4):271–368. [4] The earthquake occurred on the Wairarapa Fault which is part of the NIFS. It has been suggested that the surface rupture formed by this event helped influence Charles Lyell to link earthquakes with rapid movement on faults.[2]. Wairarapa (magnitude 8.2): This is the most powerful recorded earthquake in New Zealand and resulted from movement at least 140 kilometres along the Wairarapa Fault, on the eastern edge of the Rimutaka Range. The evening of 23 January 1855 was the end of a two-day holiday, the 15th anniversary of Wellington’s founding. New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research created an animated tsunami simulation model based on the 1855 Wairarapa event, which was screened on the television tele-drama "Aftershock". In early 1855 there was an earthquake in the centre of Cook Strait, thought to be of a magnitude of about 8.1-8.2, the largest in human memory. The 1855 earthquake is the most severe earthquake to have occurred in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840. 2009. January 1855. In Wellington, close to the epicenter, shaking lasted for at least 50 seconds. The number of people killed is uncertain, but is estimated to be between five and nine. column on 9 November 2008, and was viewed approximately 993 times (disclaimer) (check views). Between 7 and 9 people were killed in the earthquake, and 5 others sustained injuries that required hospitalisation. [GNS Science]. [10] The estimated magnitude of about 8.2 is unusually large for an earthquake associated with movement on a mainly strike-slip fault, and the coseismic offset would have been the largest known for such an event. Nearly 200 historical accounts have been examined and analysed in order to determine the effects of the magnitude 8+ 1855 Wairarapa, New Zealand, earthquake. Hashimoto, C., A. Noda, T. Sagiya, and M. Matsu’ura. Forward elastic dislocation modelling shows that movement on a steeply dipping Wairarapa fault alone cannot account for the recorded deformation data. A horizontal displacement of up to 18 metres (59 ft) was accompanied by uplift and tilting of the Rimutaka Range on the northwestern side of the fault with vertical offsets of about 6 metres near the fault reducing to almost nothing on the western coast of the Wellington Peninsula. Ref #: B-103-016], The large landslide shown in C. E. Gold’s painting is still visible on the Hutt Road today. The latter was most dramatic at Muka Muka, on the western side of Palliser Bay, where the ground was raised by 2.7m. Commission and GNS Science. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m., affecting much of the Cook Strait area of New Zealand, including Marlborough in the South Island and Wellington and Wairarapa in the North Island. 2a,b). The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred … Significant earthquakes in the past decade have necessitated a reassessment of seismic risk in the country; however, the most powerful earthquake New Zealand has experienced in at least the last two centuries—the Wairarapa seismic event—struck 165 years ago on January 23, 1855. The 1855 Wairarapa Earthquake As mentioned previously the Wairarapa Fault is the only major fault to have ruptured since European settlement. On 23 Jan 1855 a magnitude 8.2 earthquake struck here, killing between 5-9 people in the Wairarapa and Wellington. The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on January 23 at about 9 p.m. Read more 2. Fresh scarps attributed The Wairarapa Fault and the Wellington Fault 2.1. Minor damage was recorded in places as far away as Lyttelton and Christchurch. The most notable and last­ing effect of the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake was the sudden up­lift and tilting of the south­western part of the North Is­land, and corresponding subsid­ence of the coastal area of the Wairau Valley across Cook Strait in Marlborough. Interplate seismogenic zones along the … It shows the intensity of shaking during the earthquake of 23 January 1855. The The 1855 earthquake is the most severe earthquake to have occurred in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840. The The earthquake triggered extensive landsliding on both faces of the Rimutaka Ranges, along the Kaikoura coast and in Wellington, where access to Petone was cut off when a large landslide containing ~300,000 m3 of material cascaded down to block the coastal track north. Much of modern Wellington's central business district is formed from land raised from the harbour by the event, as shown by the series of "Shoreline 1840" plaques. The 1855 Wairarapa Earthquake Symposium 131 In today’s closely networked world, the impact of a magnitude eight earthquake in downtown Wellington is likely to cause far greater economic consequences than it did in 1855. The raised platforms at Turakirae head mark old shorelines (visible as pale bands). the significance of the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake lies not simply in the dramatic scale of its immediate geological and social effects, but in the much longer-term, ongoing influence it has exerted on research and practice in New Zealand science, engineering, [8][9], The earthquake generated New Zealand's largest historical locally generated tsunami, with a maximum run-up of 10–11 m (33–36 ft). The raised platforms at Turakirae head mark old shorelines (visible as pale bands). Since the most recent earthquake on Wairarapa occurred in 1855 and is one of the strongest continental earthquakes ever observed, it is critical to assess the seismic potential of the Wairarapa fault, which might be prone to break. The moment magnitude of the earthquake has been estimated as 8.2, the most powerful recorded in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840. This earthquakewas associated with the largest … The moment magnitude of the earthquake has been estimated as 8.2, the most powerful recorded in New Zealand since systematic European colonisation began in 1840. Wellington experienced severe shaking but the resulting damage was reduced as the city had been extensively rebuilt following the 1848 Marlborough earthquake using mainly wooden structures; only one recorded fatality (in a brick building) occurred. M 8.2 Wairarapa Tue, Jan 23 1855. [11], Mouslopoulou, V., Nicol, A., Little, T.A. The largest recorded earthquake to have hit New Zealand rocked Wellington and the This tradition arose some time before 1902, and was apparently confirmed by Adkin's (1921) report of elevated wave-cut rock platforms. Forward elastic dislocation modelling shows that movement on a steeply dipping Wairarapa fault alone cannot account for the recorded deformation data. & Walsh, J.J. (2007). GeoNet content is copyright GNS Science and is The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m., affecting much of the Cook Strait area of New Zealand, including Marlborough in the South Island and Wellington and Wairarapa in the North Island. Land raised from the harbour – along with additional reclamations – formed much of modern Wellington’s central business district. There is a widely-believed tradition that tectonic uplift accompanying the West Wairarapa earthquake of 1855 reduced the navigability of the Pauatahanui arm of Porirua harbour and created new land at its head. A fact from 1855 Wairarapa earthquake appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know? Now covered in vegetation, the slip is distinguished by its slope, which is shallower than the surrounding hills. The slip is still visible today along the Hutt Road. 1855 Wairarapa earthquake It killed between five and nine people in Wellington, Manawatu and Wairarapa and radically altered the landscape of the Wellington region. Attribution 3.0 New Zealand License. From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia The 1855 Wairarapa earthquake occurred on 23 January at about 9 p.m., affecting much of the Cook Strait area of New Zealand, including Marlborough in the South Island and Wellington and Wairarapa in the North Island. Ref #: 1/2-003924-G Collection of negatives, prints and albums PAColl-3043], Landslip caused by earthquake near Wellington, New Zealand. The ground level at Pauatahanui, Lowry Bay, and to the east of Lake Wairarapa was also raised, but it is possible that this was caused by material being deposited, rather than tectonic uplift. 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