High rates of
volcanism, earthquakes, and mountain building are the sites of subduction
zones. They occur in convergent boundaries found in tectonic plates of both
oceanic and continental crusts. Subduction zones occur when one tectonic plate
moves under another tectonic plate, sinking into the mantle as the plates
converge again.
Regions that are
within subduction zones experience an average rate of convergence of 2-8
centimeters per year. They are subject to many earthquakes because of the
collisions that occur within the tectonic plates.
