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A number of studies defined the extent of the Ryukyu Arc geographically and morphologically into three parts: Northern Ryukyu, which includes the [[Ōsumi Islands]]; Central Ryukyu, which includes [[Amami Islands]] and [[Okinawa Islands]]; Southern Ryukyu, which includes [[Miyako Islands]] and [[Yaeyama Islands]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":5" /> The northernmost and southernmost parts of the Ryukyu Arc terminate in Kyushu and Taiwan, respectively.<ref name=":9">Foster, H. L. (1965). ''Geology of Ishigaki-shima, Ryukyu-retto''. US Geol. Surv., Prof. Paper. https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0399a/report.pdf</ref>
The geological and structural features of Southern Ryukyu are quite different from those of Northern and Central Ryukyu; Southern Ryukyu, and Northern and Central Ryukyu may have had a different geological history before the middle [[Miocene]].<ref name=":1" /> [[Accretionary wedge|Accretionary complexes]] in Northern and Central Ryukyu are considered as the extension of the Outer Zone of Southwest Japan,<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":25">Taira, A., Ohara, Y., Wallis, S. R., Ishiwatari, A., & Iryu, Y. (2016). Geological evolution of Japan: an overview. ''The geology of Japan'', 1–24.</ref><ref name=":26">Takami, M., Takemura, R., Nishimura, Y., & Kojima, T. (1999). Reconstruction of oceanic plate stratigraphies and unit division of Jurassic-Early Cretaceous accretionary complexes in the Okinawa Islands, central Ryukyu Island Arc. ''The Journal of the Geological Society of Japan, 105''(12), 866–880. https://doi.org/10.5575/geosoc.105.866</ref> whereas metamorphic rocks in Southern Ryukyu are associated with the Inner Zone of Southwest Japan.<ref name=":
[[File:Location of the Ryukyu Islands.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|Location of the Ryukyu Islands.]]
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