The Mackenzie Basin's Ostler Fault

The Waitaki Whitestone Geopark presents:

The Mackenzie Basin's Ostler Fault
One of New Zealand's most spectacular active faults

Ongoing compression between the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates is uplifting the Southern Alps. Part of the compression emerges on the Ostler Fault. Extending ~65 km from near Omarama to the Lake Pukaki valley, the Ostler is the Waitaki District’s most active geological fault, experiencing a large ground-rupturing earthquake on average once every 3,500 years. The fault breakouts preserved across the glacial-age plains of the Ahuriri and Ohau valleys are world-class examples of fault landforms.

A presentation by David Barrell
David is a geologist with GNS Science, a government-owned earth science research institute. Based in Dunedin, David has worked on the geology and landforms of the Waitaki District for over 25 years. He has particular interest in landscape-shaping processes, including effects of glaciation and tectonic movements on fault lines.