Fault Awareness Areas

The active fault data displayed here are from a variety of sources. It includes the New Zealand Active Faults Database (NZAFD) which comes in two versions - 1:250,000 scale (NZAFD-AF250) and a high-resolution scale (NZAFD-HighRes) – and is prepared by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited (GNS Science). The active fault datasets also include Fault Avoidance Zones (FAZs) and Fault Awareness Areas (FAAs). The NZAFD-AF250 database covers New Zealand mainland, while the NZAFD-HighRes database, FAZs and FAAs are only available for restricted areas of New Zealand (updated periodically and without prior notification). If the FAZs are used to assist future land use planning, this should be done in accordance with the Ministry for the Environment "Planning for Development on or Close to Active Faults" (Kerr et al. 2003). The FAAs show where there may be a surface fault rupture hazard, but further work is needed to define a FAZ, and it is recommended that this dataset is used in conjunction with the guidelines developed by Barrell et al. (2015). The NZAFD is produced by GNS Science and represents the most current mapping of active faults for New Zealand in a single database. The NZAFD can be accessed on the GNS webmap via the link below. The NZAFD contains two distinct datasets based on scale: The high-resolution (NZAFD-HighRes) dataset (1:10,000 scale or better), designed for portrayal and use at cadastral (property) scale. This is currently only available to be viewed on the GNS webmap for some regions. The generalised (NZAFD-AF250) dataset, designed for portrayal and use at regional scale (1:250,000 scale). This can be viewed and downloaded on the GNS webmap for the entire country. Both datasets comprise polylines that represent the location of an active fault trace at or near the surface, at different scales. Each fault trace has attributes that describe its name, sense of movement, displacement, recurrence interval and other parameters. The high-resolution dataset group on the GNS webmap also includes two polygon layers derived from the NZAFD: Fault Avoidance Zones, which delineate areas of surface rupture hazard, as defined by the Ministry for the Environment Active Fault Guidelines (Kerr et al. 2003(external link)), or modifications thereof. Fault Awareness Areas, which highlight areas where a surface rupture hazard may exist (Barrell et al. 2015(external link)) and where more work is needed.