Earthquake icon open to visitors
Members of the public can now visit one of the most striking symbols of the November 2016 earthquake – the so-called ‘‘wall of Waiau’’.
The 3.5-metre high wall was formed when the magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on November 14, 2016, rupturing along more than 21 faults and causing widespread damage.
Much of the wall sits on the Leader fault in high country Woodchester station in Waiau, which lay at the earthquake’s epicentre.
While it is private land, owners Dave and Rebekah Kelly were now allowing groups of at least 10 people to visit for $10 per person. School groups were able to arrange visits free of charge.
University of Canterbury geologist Dr Kate Pedley described the fault scarp on the Geoscience Society of New Zealand website as an example of ‘‘mountain building in motion’’.
‘‘This is a unique and amazing opportunity to see land evolution in action.’’
Pedley said the relatively small scarp formed ‘‘incredibly rapidly’’ as the earthquake ripped through the landscape at about 1.8 kilometres per second (or more than 6000km an hour).
She also suggested visitors should catch it while they can.
‘‘The effect of pushing up a block of the ground relative to its surroundings (and depending on its geologic properties) creates a fault scarp that is more prone to erosion and will get smoothed over fairly quickly. It has always been a challenge for geologists trying to work out how much and how often a fault has ruptured in the past (and therefore how often it might do so again), when much of it may have been eroded away.’’
Woodchester Station is about a two-hour drive from Christchurch. Bookings can be made via its Facebook page.