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

"Getting a subduction zone started is like trying to push a train uphill -- it takes a huge effort," said Brandon Shuck, an assistant professor at Louisiana State University and lead author of the study.

From Science Daily • Apr. 29, 2026

The Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone has produced some of the largest tsunamis on record, including a devastating event in 1952 triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake.

From Science Daily • Jan. 6, 2026

The July 29 earthquake struck in the Kuril-Kamchatka subduction zone with a magnitude of 8.8, making it the sixth largest earthquake recorded worldwide since 1900.

From Science Daily • Jan. 6, 2026

New research offers the theory that the San Andreas fault and the Cascadia subduction zone could produce devastating back-to-back earthquake disasters.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 15, 2025

In 1700, a Cascadia subduction zone earthquake is believed to have measured around a magnitude 9.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025