Topic: subduction zone

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subduction zone

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
subduction zone large-scaled narrow region in the earth's crust where, according to plate tectonics , masses of the spreading oceanic lithosphere bend downward into the earth along the leading edges of converging lithospheric plates where it slowly melts at about 400 mi (640 km) deep and becomes reabsorbed. Subduction zones are usually marked by deep ocean trenches that often exceed 6 mi (10 km) compared to the ocean's overall depth of 2 to 4 mi (3 to 5 km). A pattern of earthquakes of shallow, intermediate, and deep focus occurs along the same angle as the descending plate, which is steeply... Read more
hot spot
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia ... upwells to melt through the crust to form a volcanic feature. Most volcano es that cannot be ascribed either to a subduction zone or to seafloor spreading at midocean ridges are attributed to hot spots. The 5% of known world volcanoes not closely ... Read more
deep-sea trench
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia ... 36,000 ft, or 7,000–11,000 m) occur. The deepest known depression of this kind is the Mariana Trench . Most trenches occur at subduction zones , where one tectonic plate is thrust under another.deep-sea trenchdeep-sea trenchdeep-sea trench Read more

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Subduction at Tonga