Benioff zone

(geophysics) A zone of earthquake hypocenters distributed on well-defined planes that dips from a shallow depth into the earth's mantle to depths as great as 420 miles (700 kilometers). Also known as Benioff-Wadati zone; Wadati-Benioff zone.

Named after H. Benioff (1954), an inclined zone of earthquakes, plunging below the earth's surface at an angle between 30° and 80°, but commonly at around 45°, and extending to a depth of 300-400 km. Benioff zones are associated with the downward movement of a lithospheric plate at a destructive plate margin. The plate is compressed, and earthquakes seem to take place within it.