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Old ones - the Alpine Fault

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There are not many places in the world where you can put your hand on a tectonic plate boundary.

With the eye of faith you can see a diagonal line running from top right to bottom left, above the blackboard. Above the line is metamorphic rock of the Indo-Australian Plate; below the line is 11,000 year old muddy gravel of the Pacific Plate. The line itself contains thin layers of rock melted by friction during earthquakes at the contact between the two.

21st Nov 2006, 15:22 | tags:#alpine fault

,#contact

,#gravel

,#indo-australian plate

,#schist

,#waitangitaona river

ViX says:

Oooooo!!

21st Nov 2006, 17:22

tullis says:

I don't understand why the blackboard is there. Fantastic image though.

21st Nov 2006, 17:34

Helen says:

Corr.

21st Nov 2006, 18:58

Euphro says:

The blackboard is in the picture so that there is something to give a sense of scale (the small pieces of yellow tape are 1 cm long) :)

21st Nov 2006, 19:46

Caine says:

Amazing!

21st Nov 2006, 20:24

swamprose says:

I don't believe it. The plates are that far up out of the ground so you can actually see them, touch them?

22nd Nov 2006, 05:35

monkey finger says:

wow. thats quite impressive.

although i'm amazed the little yellow markers are only 1cm long. if i'd had to guess, i would have said much bigger than that, like 5-6cm.

you have the greatest job ever, euphro.

22nd Nov 2006, 08:24

Euphro says:

Swamprose, yes, this is one of the few places where they are. The one on the left is being pushed up and over the one on the right in the picture :)

Thanks Monkey Finger, I do :D

22nd Nov 2006, 14:13

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