Flat Slab Subduction (IMAGE)

Carnegie Institution for Science

Flat Slab Subduction

Caption

Unlike standard subduction, in which a tectonic plate descends beneath another plate into Earth, flat slab subduction is a process in which a tectonic plate descends to depths of about 30 to 60 miles ( ~50-100 kilometers, light blue, green, and beige) then flattens and travels horizontally for hundreds of miles before descending farther into Earth's mantle.

Credit

Lara Wagner, Carnegie Institution for Science

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