Loading Recent Earthquakes Near Queenstown…
Live GeoNet feed of earthquakes recorded near Queenstown, with the Alpine Fault story behind them and the official channels for when the ground shakes.
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Otago sits on and around the Alpine Fault, the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates.
Strongest in this window
M5.2
94 km west of Queenstown · Light — widely felt ·
7 earthquakes of magnitude M3.0 or larger within 150 km of town in the last 30 days.
| Magnitude | Where | Depth | Shaking | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M3.4 | 69 km northwest | 62 km deep | Weak — felt by some indoors | |
| M4.2 | 93 km west | 45 km deep | Light — widely felt | |
| M3.9 | 97 km northwest | 15 km deep | Light — widely felt | |
| M4.1 | 87 km west | 42 km deep | Light — widely felt | |
| M3.9 | 91 km west | 42 km deep | Weak — felt by some indoors | |
| M5.2 | 94 km west | 102 km deep | Light — widely felt | |
| M4.1 | 111 km west | 48 km deep | Light — widely felt |
This page is not an earthquake warning
The Alpine Fault runs the length of the Southern Alps within about 40–80 km of Queenstown and is New Zealand's largest, most active geological structure. GNS Science's AF8 research programme puts the probability of it rupturing at 75% within the next 50 years, with roughly a 4-in-5 chance that rupture is magnitude 8 or larger. Its last major rupture was in 1717 — over the fault's average 300-year recurrence interval, based on an 8,000-year, 27-rupture record.
Smaller, more frequent quakes come from the wider network of faults across Fiordland and Central Otago — Fiordland alone produces some of the country's largest quakes (magnitude 7.8 in 2009, 7.2 in 2003), both felt strongly in Queenstown without causing major local damage. Most of what this page lists day to day will be minor and unfelt; it is the pattern over time, not any single quake, that matters here.
Checked 24 August at 1:47 pm. Earthquake data from GeoNet (GeoNet / GNS Science, CC BY 3.0 NZ). Magnitude, depth and felt intensity are revised as analysis improves, and very fresh quakes can take minutes to appear.
Strongest lately: M5.2
94 km W of town