The Kyushu–Ryukyu Arc

Abstract
The Kyushu-Ryukyu Arc extends for over 1000 km south from the large island of Kyushu down the Ryukyu Island chain towards Taiwan. It has been produced by subduction of oceanic plates beneath the Eurasian continent and exposes a wide range of Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks formed in an active continental margin setting (Maruyama et al. 1997; Isozaki et al. 2010). In this chapter we describe the geology of the arc from the oldest (Palaeozoic and Triassic) to youngest (Neogene and Quaternary) rocks, and discuss the geodynamic evolution of the area.