Magnitude 7.1 - Eastern New Guinea Reg, Papua, New Guiinea (click title to entry - thank you)
Tectonic Summary
The Eastern New Guinea Region earthquake of December 14, 2011, occurred as a result of oblique-normal faulting deep beneath eastern Papua New Guinea, near the northern edge of the Australian Plate. Earthquakes in this geographical region are associated with the large-scale convergence of the Australia and Pacific plates, and with the complex interactions of several microplates between the two, most notably the South Bismarck plate, the Solomon Sea plate, and the Woodlark plate. At the latitude of this event, the Australian plate moves towards the east-northeast with respect to the Pacific plate at a rate of approximately 10 cm/yr.
