However despite at least 3 km (1.9 mi) of uplift of the axial ranges in the middle regions of the fault system during the last 10 million years most of the shortening on this part of the Hikurangi Margin is accommodated by subduction.

The Waimana Fault is 50 km (31 mi) long with potential for a Mw6.9 shock at its recurrence interval of 2850 years and slip rate of 0.07 cm/year (0.028 in/year).

[3] The Whakatane Fault has multisegment capacity for a size Mw 7 earthquake at a recurrence interval of 3000 years and slip rate of 0.1 cm/year (0.039 in/year).

[2] Prior to the late Miocene, before about 11 million years ago, at least 500 m (1,600 ft) of western vertical displacement occurred on the Mohaka Fault,[2] and more recently, in the last 2.3 million years the maximum vertical displacement has been at least a further 500 m (1,600 ft) found about 30 km (19 mi) south of Hawkston.

[2] The Ruahine Fault commenced its vertical displacement about 10 million years ago in the late Miocene.

[2] In the last 3.6 million years geological studies have shown that less than 10 km (6.2 mi) of dextral offset has occurred on the Ruahine Fault.

[4] The slip rate is 0.14 cm/year (0.055 in/year) with estimated movement of a multisegment fault rupture of Mw 7.1 with an average recurrence of 3000 years.

[4] It lies roughly parallel with, and to the west of, the Whakatane, Waimana, and Waiotahi Faults, and to the east of the Taupo Rift.

[14] In this south eastern portion of the North Island, the continental Australian Plate is obliquely converging at over 4 cm/year (1.6 in/year) with the oceanic Pacific Plate at the Hikurangi Margin, and the North Island Fault System carries most of the dextral (right lateral) strike-slip component of this convergence.

[18] In the southern portion of the system around Wellington the subduction slab deep earthquakes of the Wadati–Benioff zone are off shore to the west.

The Kermadec microplate, which is presently in terms of movement, an independent part of the Australian Plate, probably extends to Cook Strait, with the Kermadec Plate's unclear south western boundary being the North Island Fault System.

[19] The western boundary of this plate is currently associated with to its north the spreading center of the back arc Lau Basin which continues to the south as the Havre Trough and this becomes the Taupō Rift which is the western boundary of the northern North Island Fault System and hosts the active Taupō Volcanic Zone.