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Map of the volcanic arcs in the Andes, and subducted structures affecting volcanism. The Andean Volcanic Belt is a major volcanic belt along the Andean cordillera in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. It is formed as a result of subduction of the Nazca plate and Antarctic plate underneath the South American plate.
Subduction zones are areas where one lithospheric plate slides beneath another at a convergent boundary due to lithospheric differences. These plates dip at an average of 45° but can vary. Subduction zones are often marked by an abundance of earthquakes, the result of internal deformation of the plate, convergence with the opposing plate, and ...
The main cause of the rise of the Andes is the compression of the western rim of the South American Plate due to the subduction of the Nazca Plate and the Antarctic Plate. To the east, the Andes range is bounded by several sedimentary basins , such as the Orinoco Basin , the Amazon Basin , the Madre de Dios Basin, and the Gran Chaco , that ...
The North Andes plate or North Andes block is a small tectonic plate located in the northern Andes. It is squeezed between the faster moving South American plate and the Nazca plate to the southwest. Due to the subduction of the Coiba and Malpelo plates, this area is very prone to volcanic and seismic activity, with many historical earthquakes.
Convergent boundaries are areas where plates move toward each other and collide. These are also known as compressional or destructive boundaries. Obduction zones occurs when the continental plate is pushed under the oceanic plate, but this is unusual as the relative densities of the tectonic plates favours subduction of the oceanic plate. This ...
The overriding plate may be either another oceanic plate or a continental plate. The subducting plate, or slab, sinks into the mantle at an angle, so that there is a wedge of mantle between the slab and the overriding plate. [1]: 5 The boundary between the subducting plate and the overriding plate coincides with a deep and narrow oceanic trench ...
The Nazca plate or Nasca plate, [2] named after the Nazca region of southern Peru, is an oceanic tectonic plate in the eastern Pacific Ocean basin off the west coast of South America. The ongoing subduction , along the Peru–Chile Trench , of the Nazca plate under the South American plate is largely responsible for the Andean orogeny .
The Andes mountain range as seen from a plane, between Santiago de Chile and Mendoza, Argentina, in summer. The Andes (/ ˈ æ n d iː z / AN-deez), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (Spanish: Cordillera de los Andes; Quechua: Anti) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America.