New Zealand is a long, thin country, situated on the boundary between two of the Earth’s gigantic crustal plates. The central ridge of mountain ranges, stretching from Fiordland to East Cape like a knobbly backbone, has been pushed up by huge earth processes as one plate collides and grinds against the other. Add to this the interaction of steep slopes and a climate that dumps a lot of water on them and you have a formula for collapse – landslide! The huge faults that run like railway tracks through the central part of the country are also created by the confrontation of the plates, as the Pacific Plate tries to squeeze under the Australian Plate. The result? About 17,000 earthquakes each year! The lofty volcanic cones of the central North Island are minor copared with mighty Taupo, one of the most explosive and active volcanoes in the world. Even our position in the Southwest Pacific, surrounded by deep ocean, makes us vulnerable to tsunami – and some pretty vigorous weather! All New Zealanders will encounter at least one of these hazards in their lives, just by virtue of living here. Awesome Forces is a book that everyone needs to read, in order to understand the hazards that threaten this beautiful, unstable land – and learn what they can do to survive them. It has been written by some of New Zeland’s leading scientists: Hamish Campbell on New Zealand’s setting, Alan Hull on earthquakes, Bruce Houghton and David Johnston on volcanoes, Mauri and Eileen McSaveney on landslides, Willem de Lange on tsunami, and Jim Salinger on adverse weather. About the editors: as Concept Leader Natural Environment at Te Papa, Geoff Hicks was responsible for creating the Museum’s highly successful natural environment exhibitions. A marine biologist by training, with a deep love of the New Zealand high country, he is passionate about communicating scientific ideas to non-scientist with the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd. He is the author of many scientific papers on aspects of New Zealand’s biostratigraphy and palaeontology. Used Book in Good Condition