Alpine fault

right-lateral strike-slip fault that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand's South Island

The Alpine Fault is a geological fault that runs entirely through New Zealand's South Island. It forms a boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. Earthquakes along the fault have formed the Southern Alps.

Movement along the Alpine Fault is deforming the microcontinent of Zealandia, with the southern part (on the Pacific Plate) sliding past and slightly onto the northwest part (on the Indo-Australian Plate)