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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