New Zealand is known around the world for it's beauty. However, what some people might not realize is that it has high mountain ranges and also frequent earthquakes. The reason for this is because of New Zealand's position on the border of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates.
There are two islands that make up New Zealand, the North and South islands. These plates colliding caused the Pacific plate to subduct under the Australian plate, the Northern Island is in these plates. In the South the situation is the other way around. In New Zealand the subduction zones are made apparent by the trenches to the south and the north by the Alpine Fault that connects the two. These plate boundaries are the reason for the size and shape of New Zealand.
image courtesy of records.viu.ca
Being a resident of New Zealand means the inhabitants will sometimes have to deal with earthquakes due the the position on the islands on the plates. They can range from slight rumbles to higher up on the Richter scale.
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