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

Santorini sits in the eastern Mediterranean within the Hellenic volcanic arc, one of Europe's most geologically active regions.

From Science Daily • Feb. 17, 2026

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

The western spine is part of a volcanic arc.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017