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Ring of
Fire
Home to the Majority of the World's
Active Volcanoes
USGS
by
The Ring of
Fire is a 25,000 mile (40,000 km) horseshoe-shaped area of
intense volcanic and seismic (earthquake)
activity that follows the edges of the Pacific Ocean.
Receiving its fiery name from the 452 dormant and active
volcanoes that lie within it, the Ring of Fire includes 75% of the
world's active volcanoes and is also responsible for 90% of the world's earthquakes.
Where Is the Ring of Fire?
The Ring of Fire is an arc of
mountains, volcanoes, and oceanic trenches that stretch from New Zealand
northward along the eastern edge of Asia, then east across the Aleutian Islands
of Alaska, and then south along the western coasts of North and South America.
What Created the Ring of Fire?
The Ring of Fire was created
by plate tectonics.
Tectonic plates are like giant rafts on the Earth's surface that
often slide next to, collide with, and are forced underneath each other.
The Pacific Plate is quite large and thus it borders (and
interacts) with a number of large and small plates.
The interactions between the Pacific Plate and its surrounding
tectonic plates creates a tremendous amount of energy, which, in turn, easily melts
rocks into magma. This magma then rises to the surface as lava and forms
volcanoes.
Major Volcanoes in the Ring of Fire
With 452 volcanoes, the Ring
of Fire has some that are more famous that others. The following is a listing
of major volcanoes in the Ring of Fire.
· The Andes — Running
5,500 miles (8,900 km) north and south along the western edge of South
America, the Andes Mountains are the longest, continental mountain range in the
world. The Andean Volcanic Belt is within the mountain range and is broken up
into four volcanic zones that include such active volcanoes as Cotopaxi and
Cerro Azul. It is also home to the highest, active volcano — Ojos del Salado.
· Popocatepetl —
Popocatepetl is an active volcano in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Located
near Mexico City, this volcano is considered by many to be the most dangerous
in the world since a large eruption could potentially kill millions of people.
· Mt. Saint Helens — The
Cascade Mountains in the United States' Pacific Northwest hosts the 800 mile
(1,300 km) Cascade Volcanic Arc. The Cascades contain 13 major volcanoes and
nearly 3,000 other volcanic features. The most recent eruption in the Cascades
occurred at Mt. Saint Helens in 1980.
· Aleutian Islands --
Alaska's Aleutian Islands, which consist of 14 large and 55 small islands, were
made from volcanic activity. The Aleutians contain 52 volcanoes, with a few of
the most active being Cleveland, Okmok, and Akutan. The deep Aleutian
Trench, which also sits next to the islands, has been created at the subduction
zone with a maximum depth of 25,194 feet (7679 meters).
· Mt. Fuji — Located on the
Japanese island of Honshu, Mt. Fuji, at 12,380 feet (3,776 m), is the tallest
mountain in Japan and the world's most visited mountain. However, Mt. Fuji is more
than a mountain, it is an active volcano that last erupted in 1707.
· Krakatoa — In the Indonesia
Island Arc sits Krakatoa, remembered for its massive eruption on
August 27, 1883 that killed 36,000 people and was heard 2,800 miles away
(it is considered the loudest sound in modern history). The Indonesian Island
Arc is also home to Mt. Tambora, whose eruption on April 10, 1815 was the
largest in major history, being calculated as a 7 on the Volcanic Explosion
Index (VEI).
· Mt. Ruapehu — Rising
to 9,177 feet (2797 m), Mt. Ruapehu is the tallest mountain on the North Island
of New Zealand. Located in the southern section of the Taupo Volcanic Zone, Mt.
Ruapehu is New Zealand's most active volcano.
As a place
that produces most of the world's volcanic activity and earthquakes, the Ring
of Fire is a fascinating place.
Understanding
more about the Ring of Fire and being able to accurately predict volcanic
eruptions and earthquakes may help eventually save millions of lives.
Matt
Rosenberg
· Award-winning
professional geographer
· Author of two books on geographyExperience
Matt
Rosenberg is a former writer for ThoughtCo. He covered geography for ThoughtCo
and About.com for over 20 years. He was an adjunct professor of geography at
California State University, Sacramento, a city planning and GIS intern
for local government, and is a former newspaper columnist.
Rosenberg
has been featured on PBS and NPR, and he has conducted many interviews about
geographical topics for television, radio, and newspapers. He was director of
emergency services for the American Red Cross and served on more than two dozen
major disaster relief operations around the United States. He has traveled
widely across North America and has visited or studied in Europe, Asia, Africa,
and the Middle East. He is a member of the Association of American
Geographers and the National Council for Geographic Education.Education
Matt
Rosenberg holds a bachelor's degree in geography from the University
of California, Davis and a master's degree in geography from California
State University, Northridge. Publications
· "The
Handy Geography Answer Book" (Barnes & Noble, 2004)
· "The
Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook" (Three Rivers
Press, 2002)
Awards
· Excellence in Media Award,
National Council for Geographic Education, October 2006ThoughtCo and Dotdash
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recently Dotdash was named Publisher of the Year by Digiday, a leading industry
publication.https://www.thoughtco.com/ring-of-fire-1433460
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