Matata, New Zealand

Matata

Matata is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. The town is 24 kilometres to the north-west of Whakatane. The population of Matata in the 2013 Census was 642.[1]

In 2005 the town was inundated by two debris flows sourced in the Awatarariki and Waitepuru Streams, devastating a number of buildings but without causing casualties. The debris flows were caused by a band of intense rain, at a rate of over 2 mm/min, that fell into the catchments southwest of Matata, dislodging a huge amount of debris that had built up behind a temporary dam.

Matata School is a decile 5 state primary school with a roll of 77 students.[2] St Joseph's Catholic School is a decile 2 integrated primary school with a roll of 28 students.[3] Both schools are coeducational and cater for years 1-8.

Since January 2005 the area has been subject to hundreds of shallow, low intensity earthquakes, with the most intense swarms occurring in 2005 and 2007, but continuing as of February 2009. The largest event was of magnitude 4.2 in May 2007.[4][5]

In 2016, scientists discovered a large amount of volcanic activity, including "an inflating magma" buildup, 10 kilometers (6 miles) below the surface of the town.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Matata (Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand) - Population Statistics and Location in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2016-06-04.
  2. ↑ Te Kete Ipurangi schools database: Matata School
  3. ↑ Te Kete Ipurangi schools database: St Joseph's Catholic School
  4. ↑ article: Jun 15 2005 - Earthquakes Near Matata
  5. ↑ article: May 11 2007 - Renewed Earthquake Activity Near Matata
  6. ↑ "Scientists discover magma buildup under New Zealand town". phys.org. Retrieved 2016-06-04.

External links

Coordinates: 37°53′S 176°45′E / 37.883°S 176.750°E / -37.883; 176.750


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/6/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.