2004 Tasman Sea earthquake (original) (raw)

The 2004 Tasman Sea earthquake, also known as the 2004 Macquarie Island earthquake, was a very large magnitude 8.1 earthquake which struck a remote area of the southern Tasman Sea in the early morning hours of Friday 24 December 2004. Its epicentre was located roughly 360 km (224 mi) northwest of the Auckland Islands of New Zealand, and roughly 600 km (373 mi) north of Macquarie Island of Australia. Shaking was reportedly felt as far as Tasmania and the South Island. The event was a complex intraplate earthquake within the Australian Plate, which generated a small tsunami.