Pacific Ring of Fire
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The Pacific Ring of Fire (or sometimes just the Ring of fire) is an area where large numbers of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in the basin of thePacific Ocean. In a 40,000 km horseshoe shape, it is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements. The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes and is home to over 75% of the world's active and dormant volcanoes. It is sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt or the circum-Pacific seismic belt.
In the recent years disastrous earthquakes occurred in Japan, Kobe, Los Angeles and California. All these cities are located along the Ring of Fire. Well-known for its tectonic activity, the Ring of Fire, also called the Circum-Pacific belt, is most earthquake- prone region in the world. About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. The next most seismic region, or earthquake-prone region, is the Alpide belt that extends from the Mediterranean region, eastward through Turkey, Iran, and northern India. At this region, 5 to 6% of the world’s earthquakes occur.
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