Story: Historic earthquakes

Liquefaction demonstrated

A Christchurch resident noticed what happened to the waterlogged silt that he was wheelbarrowing out of his yard. As he pushed it over bumps the vibrations caused liquefaction (where the soil loses strength and stiffness, and behaves more like a liquid than a solid). This demonstrates what happens to the waterlogged silts beneath much of the city when shaken by an earthquake.

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YouTube: ArgentumNZ's channel
Video by Andrew Gee

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How to cite this page:

Eileen McSaveney, 'Historic earthquakes - The 2011 Christchurch earthquake', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/interactive/32122/liquefaction-demonstrated (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Eileen McSaveney, published 12 Jun 2006, reviewed & revised 28 Mar 2011, updated 1 Nov 2017