oceanic crust and that typical of continents; heat flow in the basins is higher than in normal continental or oceanic areas.

Some arcs, such as the Aleutians, pass laterally into the continental shelf on the concave side of the arc, while most of the arcs are separated from the continental crust.

Movement between two lithospheric plates explains the major features of active island arcs. The island arc and small ocean basin are situated on the overlying plate which meets the descending plate containing normal oceanic crust along

1.Previous
3.Next