This was a question from a viewer: Why does New Zealand have earthquakes?
A: Australia and the Pacific meet along the Alpine Fault, and the Eastern South Island is colliding and sliding southwards (and uplifting the Southern Alps in the process).
New Zealand straddles the boundary of two tectonic plates, the Pacific Plate and the Australia Plate, which move approximately 40 millimeters per year. This movement has been directly linked to volcanic and earthquake activity.
Trimble GPS receivers are used to measure the movement.

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