New Zealand is a unique country because of its vast amounts
of volcanoes, wild climate, and special landscape. Ever since New Zealand was
formed it has been a part of the Ring of Fire where the country has had
approximately a couple dozen volcanoes, some of which are still active. The
country also isn’t any stranger to cyclones or earthquakes. Because of these
features, the countries future landscape could change dramatically.
If someone was to imagine what New Zealand’s landscape would
look like 10,000 years, 1,000,000 years, or 100,000,000 years from now I would
assume that it would look like a whole new country. The country has already
been split into two main islands ever since the country broke away from
Gondwanaland. Over the past 65 million years the country has been shifting to
shape what it currently is today.
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| Map of volcanoes in New Zealand |
I predict that in 10,000 years the country will start to
submerge little by little due to the shifting plates of the Alpine Fault and
cyclones making the country relatively smaller in size. However with these
shifting plates I also believe more volcanoes will form and start to consume
New Zealand. If this happens, then the islands climate could change and may not
become a safe place to live. Depending on the size of the earthquake, it’s
possible for the sea level to drop resulting in more land being exposed.
In 1,000,000 years I predict that the country splits into 3
main islands with a separation by submergence in Auckland. The city is already
becoming fragile with only a couple miles of land holding the North Island in
place. Due to this separation, I believe the islands will start to drift
further apart resulting in the middle island to stay put while the North Island
will drift closer towards the equator. When this happens the new North Island
will experience a climate change that has the potential to change the behavior
of the volcanoes and could also affect global warming.
The is a video showing how New Zealand's Formation has changed in the past
In 100,000,000 years I predict that the country will again
split into more islands with the separation of another North Island area right
below the city of Whangarei. This area is only about 10 miles wide with two
rivers coming together on the east and west sides of the country. At this point
I can see the South Island beginning to drift southwest towards Antarctica with
the Australian-Indian Plate
while the other North Islands drifting northeast towards the equator with the Pacific plate.
I predict these results because the country has had a
history of multiple landscape formations due to the high activity of shifting
tectonic plates over the past several million years. Also because the country
also gets a wild number of cyclones and hurricanes; which have been known to be
destructive and can alter a country’s landscape with just one disaster. All it
would take is the divergence of the two plates or a submergence cause by a
cyclone to make this country break apart into more islands.
