1. Starter © Snapshot Science, 2010Snapshot Science What has caused this damage? Image credit: Schwede66 (Wikipedia commons)

2. Activity © Snapshot Science, 2010Snapshot Science On September 4 th New Zealand experienced its strongest earthquake in 80 years. Why does New Zealand experience earthquakes? Image credit: USGS

3. Activity © Snapshot Science, 2010Snapshot Science The earthquake happened at a transform plate boundary. Here, the tectonic plates are trying to move but friction between them prevents this. The energy builds up until suddenly they slip. This causes an earthquake. Why do large earthquakes happen so rarely in New Zealand? Image credit: USGS Transform Divergent Convergent Types of tectonic plate boundaries

4. Activity © Snapshot Science, 2010Snapshot Science 1.What does the red dot on the map show? 2.Explain how this was located. 3.What do the red rings represent? 4.There was no risk of a tsunami following the earthquake. Why not? 5.Explain why New Zealand has active volcanoes. Image credit: USGS