Menu
Te Marua; Macaskill water storage lakes; excavation reveals the Wellington fault line.
Expand/collapse
Details
DescriptionPrinted in the September 22, 1981 'Leader' with an article by Jane Forsyth, of the information section of the NZ Geological Survey.
The excavation had cut down through river gravel and greywacke basement rock to a depth of ten metres, exposing a 2.7-metre difference in height between the western and eastern sides of the Wellington fault. There was probably a horizontal displacement, possibly eight times as large, but that would not be immediately identifiable. The river gravel here is about six metres deep. From evidence at the surface, it was evident that the eastern side, at right, had moved upwards; the difference in height had been more than 2,7 metres at some stage, The oldest river gravels were 15 000 years old. River gravels extended al the way to Wellington Harbour, and across the Hutt Valley.
There are no markings on the print, apart rom a 'Leader' date stamp.
To me, it looks as if the block of greywacke at the left has risen, and then river gravel has covered everything up to a common level. (Don McLeod)
Date TakenSeptember 1981
The excavation had cut down through river gravel and greywacke basement rock to a depth of ten metres, exposing a 2.7-metre difference in height between the western and eastern sides of the Wellington fault. There was probably a horizontal displacement, possibly eight times as large, but that would not be immediately identifiable. The river gravel here is about six metres deep. From evidence at the surface, it was evident that the eastern side, at right, had moved upwards; the difference in height had been more than 2,7 metres at some stage, The oldest river gravels were 15 000 years old. River gravels extended al the way to Wellington Harbour, and across the Hutt Valley.
There are no markings on the print, apart rom a 'Leader' date stamp.
To me, it looks as if the block of greywacke at the left has risen, and then river gravel has covered everything up to a common level. (Don McLeod)
Date TakenSeptember 1981Part of
About the original
Reference1981 09 22 02FormatGreyscale printSize241 x 191 mm
FormatGreyscale printSize241 x 191 mmScanned byDon McLeod
The edge of greywacke at the fault line
Click on the image to add
a tag or press ESC to cancel
a tag or press ESC to cancel
loading google map....
Te Marua; Macaskill water storage lakes; excavation reveals the Wellington fault line.. Upper Hutt Libraries, accessed 21/08/2026, https://uhcl.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/26624