Ring of Fire

Volcanoes exist all over the globe, but there is one particular area where they are most prominent. That place is known as The Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is located in the Pacific, along the rim of continents that encircle it. It is the shape of a horse shoe, is 25,000 miles long and borders the 'Pacific Plate.' This is the most concentrated place on the globe where volcanoes and earthquakes appear.

Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Monterey, Los Angeles, Baja, Central America, Chile and Peru are all directly located on the eastern side of the "Ring of Fire." 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is a direct consequence of plate tectonics and the movement and collisions of crustal plates. Earth's sphere is made of plates which fit together like a puzzle. There are ten major plates in all (plus some minor ones), and they sometimes push against one another or even pull apart, causing earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity.

The second most seismic region of the Earth is the Alpide Belt. This is home to 5­6% of the world's earthquakes and 17% of the world's largest earthquakes. This just happens to be the location of Vesuvius, along the region of the Mediterranean.

Vesuvius told us much about what happens during an eruption, and what can happen if cities within its vicinity lack precautionary methods of protection and evacuation.

??--QUESTIONS: In which belt region or plate region do you live? Are earthquakes common in your area? How do you deal with them?

(photograph shows lightning during the 1982 Galunggung eruption in Java, Indonesia - also located on the Ring of Fire)

for more information about the Ring of Fire, visit Crystalinks Pacific Ring of Fire information page. This page contains maps, diagrams and links with further explanation.