QM12 Greymouth
The Greymouth 1:250,000 geological map covers 13 000 km2, and includes the central part of the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand.The map area is bisected by the Alpine Fault - a major strike-slip fault forming the active plate boundary between the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates.
Late Cenozoic movement (which continues to the present day) has led to the juxtaposition of two different geological provinces.
The Greymouth map area is subject to natural hazards, including a high level of seismic hazard from the Alpine Fault and other active faults, with potential for earthquake shaking, landsliding, liquefaction and ground rupture. Several large, damaging earthquakes with epicentres within the map area have occurred within the last 100 years. Landsliding, rockfall, tsunami and flooding are ongoing hazards.