subduction zone

British  

noun

1. geology a long narrow, often arcuate, zone along which subduction takes place

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subduction zone Scientific  

1. A convergent plate boundary where one plate subducts beneath the other, usually because it is denser. The western coast of South America is roughly coincident with a subduction zone in which a plate consisting of ocean floor is subducting beneath the continental mass of South America.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

subduction zone

A recent study suggests that the Cascadia subduction zone and the San Andreas fault can become synchronized, with a major earthquake on one fault potentially followed by seismic activity on the other.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

The researchers concluded that the fine sediment at the bottom had been deposited following a major Cascadia subduction zone earthquake.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

To get a clearer picture of the subduction zone beneath the northern Oregon coast, Wirth and her colleagues installed 192 temporary nodal seismometers during the summers of 2021 and 2022.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

As the tectonic plate bends near the subduction zone, fractures develop, allowing the magma to rise through the crust, much like liquid being squeezed from a sponge.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026

The tsunami was triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake on July 29 in the Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone, where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 25, 2026