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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 .
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 ...
The Pacific plate is an oceanic tectonic plate that lies beneath 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 ...
Prominently orogenic belts on the Earth are the circum-Pacific orogenic belt (Pacific Ring of Fire) and Alpine-Himalayan orogenic belt. [5] Since these orogenic belts are young orogenic belts, they form large mountain ranges; crustal activity is active and accompanied by volcanic belts and seismic belts.
The vast majority of the world's active volcanoes occur along plate boundaries, with the Pacific plate's Ring of Fire being the most active and widely known. Some volcanoes occur in the interiors of plates, and these have been variously attributed to internal plate deformation [15] and to mantle plumes.
The area is particularly vulnerable to temblors due to the tension accumulated from the interactions of two tectonic plates, the Philippine Sea Plate and the Eurasian Plate, which may lead to ...
For example, a mid-ocean ridge, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates whereas the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates. Volcanoes resulting from divergent tectonic activity are usually non-explosive whereas those resulting from convergent tectonic activity cause ...
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]