forearc

forearc

English

Etymology

    From fore- + arc.

    Noun

    forearc (plural forearcs)

    1. (geology) A region of raised rock debris which forms between the subduction zone and any associated volcano or volcanic chain.
      • 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:
        These offshore Sonoman mountains likely formed an orogenic (mountainous) barrier to moisture inland, resulting in a mountain-shadow onshore desert punctuated by regional annual and large basin perennial streams draining into a forearc saline sea.

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