volcanic arc

American  

noun

1. a curving chain of active volcanoes formed above a subduction zone and adjacent to a convergent plate boundary.

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volcanic arc Scientific  

/ vŏl-kăn′ĭk,vôl- /

1. A curved chain of volcanoes in the overriding tectonic plate of a subduction zone. Volcanic arcs form as the result of rising magma formed by the melting of the downgoing plate. They are curved because of the curvature of the Earth. The Andes mountains form a volcanic arc.

2. See also island arc

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Example Sentences

The full research paper, 'A new tektite strewn field in Australia ejected from a volcanic arc impact crater 11 Myr ago', is published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

From Science Daily • Oct. 16, 2025

Shishaldin is one of the most active volcanoes in the Aleutian volcanic arc.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 15, 2023

Newberry Volcano is the largest volcano in the Cascades volcanic arc and covers about 1,200 square miles.

From Washington Post • Sep. 2, 2022

That concern is reserved for the volcanic arc of the Lesser Antilles to the east, where the North American plate is roughly perpendicular to the Caribbean plate and subducting beneath it.

From Scientific American • May 10, 2020

In some subduction zones, tensional forces working on the continental plate create a backarc basin on the interior side of the volcanic arc.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017