volcanic arc

noun

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

volcanic arc

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

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.

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Santorini lies on the Hellenic Volcanic Arc - a chain of islands created by volcanoes.

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Santorini is on what is known as the Hellenic Volcanic Arc - a chain of islands created by volcanoes - but the last major eruption was in the 1950s.

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Santorini is on what is known as the Hellenic Volcanic Arc but the last major eruption was in 1950.

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

Read more on Seattle Times