island arc

noun

A long chain of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries.

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Meanings

nounisland arc (plural island arcs)

plural island arcs

  1. geographyA long chain of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries.

    Offshore to the west of the continental margin during the Early Triassic, the Sonoma highlands formed a volcanic island arc, separated from the mainland by a shallow sea that cut through western Nevada and northwestern Utah.

    2012, Chinle Miller, “The Tectonic Forces of the Mesozoic”, in In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition, page 34
Cite this entry
APA

island arc. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/island%20arc

MLA

“island arc.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/island%20arc. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “island arc,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/island%20arc.

Source: island arc on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.