Forearc
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A region of raised rock debris which forms between the subduction zone and any associated volcano or volcanic chain.
"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."
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
From fore- + arc.
Related phrases
More for "forearc"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.