Article
Article
Andesite
Article By:
Gamble, John Department of Geology, Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand.
Last reviewed:October 2019
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.033100
A typical volcanic rock erupted from a volcano associated with convergent plate boundaries. The process of subduction, which defines convergent plate boundaries, results in the sinking of oceanic lithosphere beneath either oceanic lithosphere or continental lithosphere. In the oceanic basins, arcuate chains of oceanic islands, such as the Aleutian Islands, the Marianas Islands, and the Izu-Bonin Islands, form oceanic island arcs. The islands of Japan, much of western North and South America, and the Taupo Volcanic Zone of Northern New Zealand (Fig. 1) form continental margin arcs. Andesites are common to all of these settings and are the archetypal volcano of the Pacific “Ring of Fire.” See also: Lithosphere; Plate tectonics; Volcano
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