P e r t h

Basi n

N o r t h

Australia n

Basi n

S o u t h A u s t r a l i a B a s i n

Broken Ridg e

N o r t h

Fij i

Basi n

Emeral d

Basi n

M a c q u a r i e

R i d g e

Cuvier

Plateau

N

e

w

C

a l e

d

o

n i a

B a s i n

Celebe s

Basi n

Tasman Basi n

Coral S e a

Basi n

Ontong-Jav a

Platea u

Melanesia n

Basi n

ignaramagnipaK

esiR

Tasman

Plai n

I n d i a n - A n t a r c t i c

R i d g e

Indian - Antarcti c

Basi n

Ris e

N

o

r f o l k

R i d

g

e

L

o

r

d

H

o

w

e

R i s

e

Wallaby

Plateau

S out h

Fij i

Basi n

Chatha m

Campbel

Platea

l

u

East

Tasman

Plateau

Sout h

Ta s m a n

Ris e

Naturalist e

Platea u

Exmou t h

Platea u

E

a

s t I n

d i a

n

R

i

d g

e

S o u t h e a s t I n d i a n R i d g e

W h a r t o n

Basi n

Gulf

of

Thailand

SINGAPOR E

TUVALU

MARSHAL

ISLAND

L

S

TIMOR-LESTE

M A L A YSI A

P APU A

NEW GUINE A

FIJI

ISLANDS

VANUATU AMERICAN

SAMOA

(U.S.)

SAMOA

AENIUG WEN AUPAP

AISENODNI

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

SOLOMON ISLANDS

INDONESI A

N

O

R

TH

NEW

HEBRIDES

TRENCH

VITYAZ TRENCH

TONGA TRENCH

KERMADEC TRENCH

SOUTH SOLOMON TRENCH

MANUS TROUGH

SUNDA (JAVA) TRENCH

NEW GUINEA TRENCH

SERAM TRENCH

TIMOR TROUGH

SUND A P L AT E

AUSTRA L I A P L AT E

AUS T RAL I A P L AT E

PA CIFIC PL AT E

400

200

60

60

60

300

300

100

Santa

Cruz

Islands

600

500

300

100

60

400

200

60

300

Kermadec Islands

400

200

100

60 60

60

200

200

600

0°

A l p i n e F a u l t

Banda Sea

1900

1901

1906

1907

1907

1913

1913

1914

1914

1916

1916

1917

1917

1917

1918

1919

1920

1920

1924

1926

1928

1929

1931

1931

1931

1932

1934

1935

1935

1935

1938

1939

1939

1939

1941

1943

1943

1943

1943

1945

1946

1948

1949

1950

1953

1953

1955

1957

1959

1963 1963

1963

1963

1965

1965

1965

1968

1969

1970

1971

1971

1971

1975

1975

1976

1976

1977

1979

1980

1980

1980

1981

1981

1981

1982

1984

1986

1986

1988

1989

1990

1990

1991

1992

1994

1995

1995

1996 1996

1998

1998

2000

2000

2000

2000

2000

2000

2001

2002

2002

2004

2004

2006

2006

2007

2007

2007

2009

2009

2009

2009

2009

2009

2009

2009

2010

2010

2010

Borneo

Sumatra

Java

Lesser Sunda Islands

Greater Sunda Islands

South

Island

North

Island

Tasmania (Aus.)

Loyalty Islands

Sumba

Ipoh

Medan

Kuala

Lumpur Pontianak

Samarinda

Padang

Balikpapan

Palembang

Bandjermasin

Makassar

TanjungkarangTelukbetung

Jakarta

Bandung

Semarang Surabaya

Yogyakarta

Brisbane

Perth

Newcastle

Sydney

Adelaide

Canberra

Auckland

Melbourne

Christchurch

Singapore

Wellington

BRUNE I

1938

1977

2004

2005

2007

INDIAN OCEA N

Tasman Se a

C o r al S e a

Arafura Sea

J a v a S e a

A n d a m a n

S e a

SOUT H PACIFIC OCEA N

175°

175°

180°

180°

175°

175°

170°

170°

165°

165°

160°

160°

155°

155°

150°

150°

145°

145°

140°

140°

135°

130° 135°

125°

120° 125°

115°

115°

110°

110°

105°

105°

100°

100°

95°

95°

65° 70° 75° 80° 85° 90° 170° 165° 160° 155°

5°

5°

10°

0°

0°

5°

10°

15°

20°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

50°

AUSTRALI A

THAILAND

MAL AY S I A

NEW CALEDONIA

(France)

Macquarie

Island (Aus.)

Chatham Is.

(New Zealand)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2010

Australia plate and Vicinity

Compiled by Harley M. Benz,1 Matthew Herman,2 Arthur C. Tarr,1 Gavin P. Hayes,1 Kevin P. Furlong,2 Antonio Villaseñor,2 Richard L. Dart,1 and Susan Rhea1

Open-File Report 2010–1083-G

2011

AUSTRALIA PLATE

SUNDA

PLATE

PACIFIC PLATE

New

 G u i n e a

SOLOMO N

ISLAND S

NEW ZEALAN D

90

49

65

93

71

90

75

46

35 70

63

76 84

56

NEW BRITAIN TRENCH

100° 110° 120° 130° 140° 150° 160° 170° 180°

10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

SEISMIC HAZARD AND RELATIVE PLATE MOTION

0 200 400 600 800 1,000 100

Kilometers

Scale 1:15 000 000 

1889

1878

1861

1857

1826 1855

1818

PRE-INSTRUMENTAL SEISMICITY 1500–1899

M ≥ 7.5, tsunami, or deaths

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRALIA

100° 110° 120° 130° 140° 150° 160° 170° 180°

10°

0°

10°

20°

30°

40°

Albers Equal Area Projection for Australia

Digital map database and cartography by Susan Rhea

and Arthur Tarr

Manuscript approved for publication Nov. 16, 2011

GREAT EARTHQUAKES:

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

FIGURE EXPLANATION

Peak ground acceleration

0–0.2 m/s2

0.2–0.4

0.4–0.8

0.8–1.6

1.6–3.2

3.2–6.4

6.4–9.8

Relative plate motion

11.0–19.9 mm/yr

20.0–39.9

40.0–59.9

60.0–79.9

80.0–100.0

MAP EXPLANATION

Magnitude classes

4–5.9

6–6.4

6.5–6.9

7–7.4

7.5

7.6

7.7

7.8

7.9

8.0

8.1

8.2

Depth of focus

0–69 km

70–299 km

300–700 km

Nucleation points

Active volcanoes

Mean slab depth

50 km

100

200

300

600

Rupture zones

Plate boundaries

Divergent

Transform

Inferred

Convergent

Subduction

Plate boundaries

Divergent

Transform

Inferred

Convergent

Subduction

1938/02/01

1977/08/19

2004/12/26

2005/03/08

2007/09/12

Banda Sea

Sumbawa

Sumatra-Andaman

Nias Islands

Sumatra

8.5

8.3

9.3

8.6

8.5

Okal and Reymond (2003)

Global CMT

Global CMT

Global CMT

Global CMT

Year/Mo/Day Location Magnitude Source

Suggested citation:

Benz H.M., Herman, Matthew, Tarr, A.C., Hayes, G.P., 

Furlong, K.P., Villaseñor, Antonio, Dart, R.L., and Rhea, 

Susan, 2011, Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2010 Australia 

plate and vicinity: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

2010–1083-G, scale 1:15,000,000.

Any use of trade, product or firm names is for 

descriptive purposes only and does not imply 

endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, 

is in the public domain, it also contains copyrighted 

materials as noted in the text. Permission to 

reproduce copyrighted items for other than personal 

use must be secured from the copyright owner.

This and other USGS information products are available at

http://store.usgs.gov/. 

U.S. Geological Survey

Box 25286, Denver Federal Center

Denver, CO 80225

To learn about the USGS and its information products visit

http://www.usgs.gov/. 

1-888-ASK-USGS

This report is available at:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1083/g

For more information concerning this publication, contact:

Center Director, USGS Geologic Hazards Science Center

Box 25046, Mail Stop 966

Denver, CO 80225

(303) 273-8579

Or visit Geologic Hazards Science Center Web site at:

http://geohazards.cr.usgs.gov/

NEW ZEALAN D

NEW ZEALAN D

1

U.S. Geological Survey

2

Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University,

State College, PA 16802 USA 3

Institute of Earth Sciences, CSIC, Barcelona, Spain

 TECTONIC SUMMARY

The boundary of the Australia plate includes all fundamental plate boundary components: mid-ocean ridges, subduction zones, 

arc-continent collisions, and large-offset transform faults. Along the southern edge of the plate the mid-ocean ridge separates the 

Australia and Antarctica plates and its behavior is straightforward. In contrast, the other boundary segments that ring the Australia 

plate represent some of the most seismically active elements of the global plate boundary system, and some of the most rapidly 

evolving plate interactions. As a result, there are some very complex structures which host many large and great earthquakes (see 

table, right).

Subduction dominates the convergence of the eastern boundary of the Australia plate with the Pacific plate. The relative plate 

velocity increases northward from 35 mm/yr at New Zealand to 100 mm/yr at the Solomon Islands. Near New Zealand, the 3,000 km 

long plate boundary changes structure rapidly along its length and includes an oceanic transform, two subduction zones and a 

transpressive continental transform fault (Alpine fault).

In the New Zealand continental block, large earthquakes tend to occur within the accretionary wedge (for example, the 1931 M7.8

Hawke’s Bay event that killed 256 people), but the Alpine Fault is also capable of generating M7.5 earthquakes. North of New 

Zealand, the Pacific plate subducts westward at the Kermadec and Tonga trenches. Many large earthquakes are generated by 

subduction processes in the accretionary wedge, on the descending slab interface and, less frequently, on the outer rise of the Pacific 

plate. On September 29, 2009 an outer rise M8.1 normal fault event occurred south of Samoa, generating a tsunami that killed at least 

180 people (shown on map, right).

On the eastern edge of the north plate boundary, the Australia plate subducts eastward under the Pacific plate. Large earthquakes are 

dominantly due to subduction processes, such as the April 1, 2007 M8.1 interplate event in the Solomon Islands that generated a

tsunami killing at least 40 people. The northern boundary of the Australia plate is dominated by convergence with the Eurasia and 

Pacific plates, accommodatedby subduction in western Indonesia, incipient arc-continent collision in eastern Indonesia, and 

prolonged arc-continent collision in New Guinea. 

From Sumatra to Sumba, the Australia plate is subducting northward at 65 mm/yr under the Eurasia plate.The Sunda subduction zone 

hosts many large and great earthquakes related to the subduction process, including three great interpolate megathrust events near 

Sumatra: the 2007 M8.5 event killed 25 people, the 2005 M8.6 event killed over 1,800 people, and the 2004 M9.3 event was the third 

largest ever recorded and killed over 175,000 people. The 1977 Sumba M8.0 event is also noteworthy because it was one of the 

largest normal fault earthquakes ever recorded, causing a tsunami that killed at least 100 people. 

From Sumba to the Timor trough, the northern Australia continental margin collides with the volcanic arc to the north. There is

seismic evidence for a descending slab under the Banda Sea, but it is rupturing from the buoyant continental lithosphere. GPS 

measurements indicate that the surface lithosphere of the Banda Sea is now moving with the Australia plate rather than the Eurasia 

plate. Large earthquakes are common in eastern Indonesia but interplate megathrust events are rare because of the disconnection of 

the slab. The 1938 M8.5 Banda Sea earthquake, an intermediate depth thrust event, caused a tsunami, no deaths were reported. In 

New Guinea, arc-continent collision between the Australia and Pacific plates has been progressing for 25 Ma and the regions near the 

edges of the impinging Australia continental margin include relatively short lived segments with diverse deformational styles that 

outline blocks of undeformed lithosphere. Large thrust fault and strike slip earthquakes associated with the collision. 

 DATA SOURCES

The earthquakes portrayed on the main map (right) are taken from two sources: (a) the Centennial earthquake catalog (Engdahl

and Villaseñor, 2002) and annual supplements for the interval 1900–2007, where the magnitude floor is 5.5 globally, and (b) a

catalog of earthquakes having high-quality depth determinations for the period 1964–2002 and a magnitude range of 5.0≥M≤5.4

(Engdahl, personal commun. 2003).

The nucleation points of great earthquakes (M≥8.3) are designated with a label showing the year of occurrence. Their rupture

areas are shown as pale reddish polygons. Major earthquakes (7.5≥M≤8.2) are labeled with the year of occurrence, while

earthquakes (8.0≥M≤8.2) are labeled with the year of ocurrence and also denoted by a white outline (Tarr and others, 2010). The

aftershock rupture zone of the M8.4 1938 Banda Sea earthquake could not be determined. Consequently, a radial area comparable

to the aftershock zone expected for such an event is shown.

The Seismic Hazard and Relative Plate Motion panel displays the generalized seismic hazard of the region (Giardini and others,

1999) and representative relative plate motion vectors using the NUVEL–1A model (DeMets, and others, 1994.)

Pre-instrumental seismicity was obtained from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center (2010) database of significant

earthquakes; locations are approximate, based on macro-seismic reports and field investigations. We selected earthquakes with

associated reports of moderate to major damage, 10 or more deaths, an estimated magnitude of 7.5 or greater (if known),

Modified Mercalli Intensities X, or tsunami generation.

Base map data sources include GEBCO 2008, Volcanoes of the World dataset (Siebert and Simkin, 2002), plate boundaries

(Bird, 2003), Digital Chart of the World (1992), and ESRI (2002). Slab contours are from Hayes and Wald (2010).

 REFERENCES

Bird, Peter, 2003, An updated digital model of plate boundaries: Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, v. 4, no. 3, 52 p.

DeMets, Charles, Gordon, R.G., Argus, D.F., and Stein, Seth, 1994, Effects of recent revisions to the geomagnetic time scale on

estimates of current plate motions: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 21, p. 2191–2194.

Engdahl, E.R., and Villaseñor, Antonio, 2002, Global seismicity 1900–1999, in Lee, W.H.K., Jennings, P.C., Kisslinger, Carl, and

Kanamori, Hiroo, eds, International Handbook of Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, v. 81(A), chap. 41, p. 1–26.

GEBCO, 2008, The GEBCO_08_Grid, ver. 20091120, last accessed Jan 8, 2010 at http://www.gebco.net/.

Giardini, D., Grünthal, G., Shedlock, K., Zhang, P., and Global Seismic Hazards Program, 1999, Global Seismic Hazards Map,

last accessed Jan 9, 2010 at http://www.seismo.ethz.ch/GSHAP/.

Hamilton, Warren, 1979, Tectonics of the Indonesian region, U.S. Geologic Survey Professional Paper, 1078, 345 p.

Hayes, Gavin, and Wald, David, 2010, Slab models for subduction zones: U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards

Program, last accessed July, 22, 2010 at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/data/slab/.

NOAA, 2010, National Geophysical Data Center: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, accessed on

March 31, 2010 at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/ngdc.html.

Okal, E.A., and Reymond, Dominique, 2003, The mechanism of great Banda Sea earthquake of 1 February 1938: Applying the

method of preliminary determination of focal mechanism to a historical event: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 216,

p. 1–15.

Siebert, Lee, and Simkin, Thomas, 2002, Volcanoes of the world—An illustrated catalog of Holocene volcanoes and their eruptions:

Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information series, GVP–3, last accessed Jan 9, 2010 at

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/.

Tarr, A.C., Villaseñor, Antonio, Furlong, K.P., Rhea, Susan, and Benz, H.M., 2010, Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2007: U.S.

Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 3064, scale 1:25,000,000.