earth science

Taupō Rift termination faults

Taupō Rift termination faults is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Taupō Rift termination faults rather than just read about it. In short: The seismically active southern end of the Taupō Rift beyond Mount Ruapehu has a number of mainly east to west orientated termination faults where the western wall Raurimu Fault and eastern wall Rangipo Fault (Desert Road Fault) terminate in the Ruapehu Graben, of the central North Island of New Zealand. In a multi-fault rupture event there is the potential for the earthquake being of Mw 7.1 magnitude.

Key takeaways

Taupō Rift termination faults belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Taupō Rift termination faults to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Taupō Rift termination faults from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The seismically active southern end of the Taupō Rift beyond Mount Ruapehu has a number of mainly east to west orientated termination faults where the western wall Raurimu Fault and eastern wall Rangipo Fault (Desert Road Fault) terminate in the Ruapehu Graben, of the central North Island of New Zealand. In a multi-fault rupture event there is the potential for the earthquake being of Mw 7.1 magnitude. The faults can be classified as belonging to three normal fault sets:

Ruapehu Graben NNE‐trending faults Raurimu Fault - see separate article Rangipo Fault (Desert Road Fault) - see separate article Mostly uncharacterised faults under Mount Ruapehu Ohakune‐Raetihi fault set that is 15 km (9.3 mi) wide of E‐W to ESE‐WNW‐trending faults Ohakune Fault Raetihi North and South faults Waipuna Fault Oruakukuru Fault Rangiahu Fault Maketu Stream Fault (Maketu Trace) Karioi fault set that is 24 km (15 mi) wide of NE‐trending faults Karioi Fault Wahianoa Fault Snowgrass Fault Shawcroft Road Fault Moawhango Fault

Ohakune Fault

This most northerly of the cross faults extends 24 km (15 mi) from northwest of Tohunga Junction into the Rangataua Forest. At Tohunga Junction it crosses the Raurimu Fault with a complex series of faults. The fault to the west of this junction region has 65 m (213 ft) of vertical displacement and to the east there is only 55 m (180 ft). This downthrown to the south normal fault has been active for over 18,000 years and has a dip-slip displacement rate of 3.5 mm (0.14 in)/year. The Ohakune volcanic complex (Rochfort ejecta ring and craters) which erupted about 31,500 years ago is situated on and aligned with the fault just north of the town.

Raetihi faults The E - W trending 6 km (3.7 mi) of the Raetihi North Fault is downthrown to the south while the 2.5 km (1.6 mi) Raetihi South Fault is downthrown to the north so they have a small graben between them. The Raetihi South Fault possibly continues along the Mangahowhi Stream for up to 5 km (3.1 mi). Displacement rates based on an age of 18,000 years for the scarps are 0.5 mm (0.020 in)/year for the Raetihi North Fault and 0.4 mm (0.016 in)/year for the Raetihi South Fault.

Waipuna Fault South of the Raetihi faults, the most western of the faults discussed, the Waipuna Fault is downthrown to the south and extends 16 km (9.9 mi) from the Waimarino Forest to intersept the Karioi Fault. The displacement rate might be 0.4 mm (0.016 in)/year but this has an error of the same order.

Oruakukuru Fault The Oruakukuru Fault to the south of the Waipuna Fault commences at State Highway 4 (New Zealand) close to the upper Mangawhero River extending 9 km (5.6 mi) also intersects the Karioi Fault and has a displacement rate of 0.7 mm (0.028 in)/year.

Snowgrass Fault The south east Taupō Rift is associated with a 35 km (22 mi) northeast trending dome south of the Ngamatea Swamp where the Rangipo Fault terminates. The Snowgrass Fault on the northern side of this dome is a downthrown to the south normal fault that is displacing at an estimated 0.55 mm (0.022 in)/year.

Shawcroft Road Fault The 7 km (4.3 mi) Shawcroft Road Fault cuts across the Rangipo Fault line just to the north east of the Waiouru Military Camp and is displacing at 0.7 mm (0.028 in)/year.

Karioi Fault The normal Karioi Fault is parallel and to the north of the Shawcroft Road Fault and is 22 km (14 mi) long with a summed displacement for its two strands of 0.55 mm (0.022 in)/year.

Wahianoa Fault The Wahianoa Fault is a northeast-striking presumed normal fault across the southeast flank of Mount Ruapehu extending at least 10 km (6.2 mi) from the Ohakune Fault towards the Rangipo Fault and the Upper Waikato Stream Fault with a displacement rate of 0.3 mm (0.012 in)/year. It has been postulated that it has the potential to do a whole fault rupture at the same time as whole fault rupture of the Rangipo and Upper Waikato Stream faults which would result in a Mw 7.1 event rupturing 43 km (27 mi) by an average of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Taupō Rift termination faults

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Taupō Rift termination faults claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Taupō Rift termination faults before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Taupō Rift termination faults ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Taupō Rift termination faults

In research: Taupō Rift termination faults appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Taupō Rift termination faults in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Taupō Rift termination faults is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Ruapehu District, Seismic faults of New Zealand, Seismic zones of New Zealand, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Taupō Rift termination faults outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Taupō Rift termination faults in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Taupō Rift termination faults means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Taupō Rift termination faults out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Taupō Rift termination faults in simple terms?

Why does Taupō Rift termination faults matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Taupō Rift termination faults?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Taupō Rift termination faults.