What is the "Ring of Fire"?

The "Ring of Fire" from the name you might guess is it a 'thing' from Sci-Fi or Fantasy story..? Well, it's NOT!

'Ring of Fire,' also called a 'Circum-Pacific belt,' is a long arc or horseshoe-shaped belt of earthquakes, volcanoes that fringes Pacific basin. Ring of Fire, Earth's Volcanic rim is home to more than half of volcanoes on Earth. The total length of this belt is about 25,000 miles (40,000 km), characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.

Region(Countries) in the Ring of Fire 

Caption

Many regions along the fault line comprise this belt. The central 15 areas in the Pacific Ring of Fire include :

1. Antarctica

2. Chile

3. Peru

4. Mexico

5. United States

6. Canada

7. Russia

8. Japan

9. Taiwan

10. China

11. Indonesia

12. Phillippines

13. Papua New Guinea

14. Fiji Islands

15. New Zealand

This belt follows chains of island arcs such as New Hebrides and Tonga, the Indonesian archipelago, the Japan, Phillippines, Kuril Islands, and the Aleutians as well as another arc-shaped land as the western coast of North and South America.

5 Super Hot Facts about Ring of Fire

1. The world's deepest point 'Mariana Trench' is located in 'its' region. It is also called as 'Challenger Deep.' The depth of the trench is about 10,944 meters ( 36,000 feet) below the sea level. The Mariana trench is significantly more profound than the Mt Everest.

2. In the future, the Ring of Fire could system a 'Supercontinent.' According to the geologist, the Atlantic or the Arctic Oceans are more likely to disappear than the Pacific.

3. Whenever there is volcanic movement in Ring of Fire region, it is an International commotion as this area pierces 15 countries.

4. This region is a more massive producer of Geothermal Energy. It has natural hot water reservoirs from which electricity can be produced.

5. The area is littered with volcanoes and is prone to earthquakes as 90 % of tremors on this planet occur in 'its' general.

About Volcanoes 

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Volcanoes are produced when heat and pressure build up deep inside Earth. Material that makes up the mantle and the lower part of the crust reaches such high temperatures, the rock melts. This molten rock, called magma, collects in underground chambers where heat, pressure, and gases cause it to erupt to the surface.

Volcanoes take diverse shapes depending on the type of magma involved and the structure of the chamber and vents through which it erupts. Japan's Mt Fuji is a composite cone, built of alternating layers of lava and ash. Hawaii has shield volcanoes, formed from thin, runny lava that travels far before it hardens. A magma chamber in the northern Rockies, site of an ancient collapsed volcano, fuels Yellowstone's hot springs, vents, and geysers- the world's most extensive collection of these geothermal features.

About 1900 active volcanoes can be found on Earth. Fewer than 8 % of Earth's volcanoes are considered active.

Volcanoes that have not erupted for a long time are called Dormant.

Volcanoes that once erupted but will never erupt again are called Extinct.

Volcanoes vary in shape depending on the process by which they were formed, the configurations of their eruptions, and the way they laid materials upon Earth's surface during their outbreak. Sometimes a volcano type can be identified from the ground or the air, but its underground form and composition are crucial to the identification. Whatever the shape of landforms exist today is due to forces such as the movement of tectonic plates, earthquakes, and volcanoes.

Volcanic eruptions occurred within Ring of Fire

As Ring of Fire is prone to volcanic eruption and earthquakes, many volcanic events occurred. They include

1. Mt Tambora (1815)

2. Krakatoa (1883)

3. Novarupta (1912)

4. Mt Saint Helens (1980)

5. Mt Ruiz (1985)

6. Mt Pinatubo

Some of the volcanic events were fatal that they caused massive destruction. Let's have a look on the stats of deadliest volcanoes ever 

Deadliest volcanic eruption ever

1. Tambora

Region- Indonesia

Year- 1815

92,000 dead 

2. Krakatoa

Region- Indonesia

Year- 1883

36,417 dead

3. Mt Pelee

Region- Martinique

Year- 1902

29,025 dead

4. Nevado Del Ruiz

Region- Colombia

Year- 1985

25,000 dead

5. Unzen 

Region- Japan

Year- 1792

14,300 dead

6. Laki

Region- Iceland

Year- 1783

9,350 dead

7. Kelut

Region- Indonesia

Year- 1919

5,110 dead