A curving chain of active volcanoes formed adjacent to a convergent plate boundary.

A generally curved linear belt of volcanoes above a subduction zone, and the volcanic and plutonic rocks formed there.

n. A curved chain of islands that rise from the sea floor, usually near a continent. The convex side usually faces the open ocean, while the concave side usually faces the continent; island arc - syn.

A chain of volcanoes fueled by magma that rises from an underlying subducting plate.

A volcanic arc is a chain of volcanic islands or mountains located near the edge of continents that are formed as the result of tectonic plate subduction. Subduction causes these arcs by creating magma as one tectonic plate sinks beneath another into the asthenosphere. The low-density magma is forced towards the surface through the overlying crust, and some erupts onto the surface to form volcanoes.