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The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) [note 1] is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) long [ 1 ] and up to about 500 km (310 mi) wide, [ 2 ] and surrounds most of the Pacific Ocean .
At 103 million km 2 (40 million sq mi), it is the largest tectonic plate. [2] The plate first came into existence as a microplate 190 million years ago, at the triple junction between the Farallon, Phoenix, and Izanagi plates. The Pacific plate subsequently grew to where it underlies most of the Pacific Ocean basin.
The Pacific Ring of Fire runs parallel to the line and is the world's foremost belt of explosive volcanism. The term andesite line predates the geologic understanding of plate tectonics . The term was first used in 1912 by New Zealand geologist Patrick Marshall to describe the distinct structural and volcanologic boundary extending from east of ...
Topographic map of central Japan, showing location of trenches, tectonic plates and boundaries. The Japan Trench is an oceanic trench part of the Pacific Ring of Fire off northeast Japan. It extends from the Kuril Islands to the northern end of the Izu Islands, and is 8,046 metres (26,398 ft) at its deepest. [1]
The Ring of Fire is situated around the Pacific Ocean, created from several converging plate boundaries. [39] Its intense volcanism and seismic activity poses a major threat for disastrous earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. [40]
The East Pacific Rise near Easter Island is the fastest spreading mid-ocean ridge, with a spreading rate of over 15 cm/yr. [2] The Pacific plate moves generally towards the northwest at between 7 and 11 cm/yr while the Juan De Fuca plate has an east-northeasterly movement of some 4 cm/yr. [3]
This occurs when a thick, warm layer of the Pacific Ocean sloshes east — creating an expansive, ocean-wide wave that can take two to three months to reach California’s shore.
There are about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) of oceanic trenches worldwide, mostly around the Pacific Ocean, but also in the eastern Indian Ocean and a few other locations. The greatest ocean depth measured is in the Challenger Deep of the Mariana Trench , at a depth of 10,994 m (36,070 ft) below sea level .