Definitions for "SUBDUCTION ZONE"
Related Terms:
Subduction, Convergent plate boundary, Benioff zone, Tectonic plate, Divergent plate boundary, Tectonic plates, Rifting, Plate boundary, Plate, Seafloor spreading, Divergent boundary, Passive margin, Plate tectonics, Rift, Transform boundary, Convergent boundary, Suture, Transform fault, Moho , Spreading center, Mohorovicic discontinuity, Mid-ocean ridge, Plates, Oceanic trench, Continental drift, Sea-floor spreading, Oceanic ridge, Uplift, Rift valley, Island arc, Tectonics, Tectonic, Triple junction, Orogeny, Asthenosphere, Continental crust, Terrane, Oceanic crust, Massif, Volcanic arc, Rift zone, Lithosphere, Mantle plume, Isostasy, Mountain, Relief, Orogenic belt, Horst, Oceanic
The zone between a sinking oceanic plate and an overriding plate, descending away from a trench and characterized by high seismicity. (See also Convergent plate boundary.)
when two tectonic plates collide, the denser plate will dive under the less dense one, being subducted.
Elongate region in which the sea floor slides beneath a continent or island arc.
region where one crustal block descends beneath another.
A zone, usually an oceanic trench, where a plate is being subducted back into the mantle.
Area in which oceanic lithosphere is carried downward (subducted) under the island arc or continent at a convergent plate boundary. A trench ordinarily forms at the boundary between the two converging plates. See convergent plate boundary.
The zone of convergence of two tectonic plates, one of which usually overrides the other.
An elongate zone in which one lithospheric plate descends beneath another. A subduction zone is typically marked by an oceanic trench, lines of volcanoes, and crustal deformation associated with mountain building. See also: convergent plate boundary.
Area of the Earth's surface where one tectonic plate is over-ridden by another: typically an oceanic plate will subduct beneath a continental plate. It has been suggested that depositing nuclear waste in or on a plate that is being subducted will lead to it being transported into the mantle and thus out of the biosphere.
The place where two plates come together. One plates moves downward into the mantle where it becomes the source of intermediate and deep earthquakes.
An elongate region in which a crustal mass descends below another crustal mass.
A long, narrow belt in which subduction (the process of one lithospheric plate descends beneath another) takes place.
a boundary where two tectonic plates collide and, because of differences in density, one dives beneath the other
an area where ocean crust rocks run into and slide underneath the edge of a continent
an area where one tectonic plate tries to dive beneath another
a region where the oceanic lithosphere descends into the mantle
An elongated region along which a crustal plate descends relative to another crustal block, for example, the descent of the Pacific plate beneath the South American plate.
a long, narrow belt in which one lithospheric plate descends beneath another, for example where the Pacific plate descends below the South American plate
an area of the sea floor where two tectonic plates are moving toward each other, causing the more dense, or heavier plate to be forced (or subducted) underneath the less dense, or lighter plate.
A convergent plate boundary where a dense oceanic plate plunges into Earth's interior.
a region where two plates come together and the edge of one plate slides beneath the other.
area where oceanic plates move into the mantle
A region where the earth's plates collide, with one plate sliding beneath the other. The world's largest earthquakes occur along this type of plate boundary. The Cascadia subduction zone, extending from northern California to the north end of Vancouver Island, is one such area. The subducting ocean plate is about 40 km beneath Victoria, BC, and about 70 km beneath Vancouver.
Also called a convergent plate boundary. An area where two plates meet and one is pulled beneath the other.
An area at a convergent plate boundary where an oceanic plate is being forced down into the mantle beneath another plate. These can be identified by a zone of progressively deeper earthquakes.
a narrow, elongate region in which one lithospheric plate is forced under another by tectonic activity.
An elongated region along which a plate descends relative to another plate, for example, the descent of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate along the Peru-Chile Trench.
An area where two plates come together and one slides under another
The region along a convergent boundary where one plate sinks beneath another.
The place on Earth's surface where two tectonic plates converge, and one plate plunges into the mantle.
An elongated region along which a block of crusts descends relative to another crustal block, for example, the descent of the Pacific plate beneath the Andean plate along the Andean trench.
A subduction zone is an area on a planet's crust in which the edge of an oceanic continental plate is being pushed beneath another plate.
The place where two lithosphere plates come together, one riding over the other. Most volcanoes on land occur parallel to and inland from the boundary between the two plates.
the region where one lithospheric plate descends beneath another as the two plates are moving towards each other. It is characterized by a line of earthquakes that demarcate the upper edge of the descending plate.
The region in which one crustal plate (oceanic or continental) is thrust beneath another plate.
A place on the surface of the Earth where two plates move toward each other, and the oceanic plate plunges beneath the other tectonic plate.
A zone in the Earth's crust and mantle, where one tectonic plate is being pulled down beneath another, less dense, one.
Diagram courtesy of USGS, "This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics"