A Wadati-Benioff zone (also Benioff-Wadati zone or Benioff zone) is a deep active seismic area in a subduction zone. Differential motion along the zone produces deep-seated earthquakes, the foci of which may be as deep as about 700 kilometres (435 miles). They develop beneath volcanicisland arcs and continental margins above active subduction zones. The deep earthquakes along the zone allow seismologists to map the three-dimensional surface of a subducting slab of oceanic crust and mantle. The angle of dip of the zone is the same as that of the subducting slab.
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