Ring of Fire
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)
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 Ring of Fire contains between 750 and 915 active or dormant volcanoes, around two-thirds of the world total.[3][4] The exact number of volcanoes within the Ring of Fire depends on which regions are included.
About 90% of the world's earthquakes,[5] including most of its largest,[6][7] occur within the belt.
The Ring of Fire is not a single geological structure. It was created by the
The Ring of Fire has existed for more than 35 million years
Most of Earth's active volcanoes with summits above sea level are located in the Ring of Fire.).
History
From Ancient Greek and Roman times until the late 18th century, volcanoes were associated with fire, based on the ancient belief that volcanoes were caused by fires
The existence of a belt of volcanic activity around the Pacific Ocean was known in the early 19th century; for example, in 1825 the pioneering volcanologist G.P. Scrope described the chains of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean's rim in his book "Considerations on Volcanos".[16] Three decades later, a book about the Perry Expedition to Japan commented on the Ring of Fire volcanoes as follows: "They [the Japanese Islands] are in the line of that immense circle of volcanic development which surrounds the shores of the Pacific from Tierra del Fuego around to the Moluccas." (Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, 1852–54).[17] An article appeared in Scientific American in 1878 with the title "The Ring of Fire, and the Volcanic Peaks of the West Coast of the United States", which outlined the phenomenon of volcanic activity around the boundaries of the Pacific.[18] Early explicit references to volcanoes forming a "ring of fire" around the Pacific Ocean also include Alexander P. Livingstone's book "Complete Story of San Francisco's Terrible Calamity of Earthquake and Fire", published in 1906, in which he describes "... the great ring of fire which circles round the whole surface of the Pacific Ocean.".[19]
In 1912, geologist
The development of the theory of plate tectonics since the early 1960s has provided the current understanding and explanation of the global distribution of volcanoes and earthquakes, including those in the Ring of Fire.[22][23]
Geographic boundaries
There is consensus among geologists about most of the regions which are included in the Ring of Fire. There are, however, a few regions on which there is no universal agreement. (See: § Distribution of volcanoes). Indonesia lies at the intersection of the Ring of Fire and the Alpide belt (which is the Earth's other very long subduction-related volcanic and earthquake zone, also known as the Mediterranean–Indonesian volcanic belt, running east–west through southern Asia and southern Europe).[24][25][26] Some geologists include all of Indonesia in the Ring of Fire;[27] many geologists exclude Indonesia's western islands (which they include in the Alpide belt).[28][25][29][30][31]
Some geologists include the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands in the Ring of Fire,[29][30] other geologists exclude these areas.[27] The rest of Antarctica is excluded because the volcanism there is not related to subduction.[32][31]
The Ring of Fire does not extend across the southern Pacific Ocean from New Zealand to the Antarctic Peninsula or from New Zealand to the southern tip of South America instead of convergent. Although some volcanism occurs in this region, it is not related to subduction.
Some geologists include the Izu Islands, the Bonin Islands, and the Mariana Islands,[27][34][35] other geologists exclude them.[33]
Land areas
- Antarctica
- Andes
- Austral Volcanic Zone
- South Volcanic Zone
- Central Volcanic Zone
- North Volcanic Zone
- Central America Volcanic Arc
- North American Cordillera
- Cascade Volcanic Arc
- Aleutian Range
- Kamchatka Peninsula
- Kuril Islands
- Japan
- Ryukyu Islands
- Taiwan
- Philippine Mobile Belt
- Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc
- Tanimbar and Kai Islands
- Bismarck Archipelago
- Vanuatu
- Bougainville Island
- Solomon Islands
- Fiji
- Tonga Islands
- Kermadec Islands
- Taupō Volcanic Zone
Volcanoes in the central parts of the Pacific Basin, for example the Hawaiian Islands, are very far from subduction zones[36] and they are not part of the Ring of Fire.[37]
Tectonic plate configurations
The Ring of Fire has existed for more than 35 million years.[9] In some parts of the Ring of Fire, subduction has been occurring for much longer.[38]
The current configuration of the Pacific Ring of Fire has been created by the development of the present-day subduction zones, initially (by about 115 million years ago) in South America, North America and Asia. As plate configurations gradually changed, the current subduction zones of Indonesia and New Guinea were created (about 70 million years ago), followed finally by the New Zealand subduction zone (about 35 million years ago).[39][9]
Past plate configurations
Along the coast of east Asia, during the Late Triassic about 210 million years ago, subduction of the Izanagi Plate (the Paleo-Pacific Plate) was occurring,[39] and this continued in the Jurassic, producing volcanic belts, for example, in what is now eastern China.[40]
The Pacific Plate came into existence in the Early Jurassic about 190 million years ago,[41] far from the margins of the then Paleo-Pacific Ocean. Until the Pacific Plate grew large enough to reach the margins of the ocean basin, other older plates were subducted ahead of it at the ocean basin margins. For example, subduction has been occurring at the coast of South America since the Jurassic Period more than 145 million years ago, and remnants of Jurassic and Cretaceous volcanic arcs are preserved there.[42]
At about 120 to 115 million years ago, the Farallon Plate was subducting under South America, North America and north-east Asia while the Izanagi Plate was subducting under east Asia. By 85 to 70 million years ago, the Izanagi Plate had moved north-eastwards and was subducting under east Asia and North America, while the Farallon Plate was subducting under South America and the Pacific Plate was subducting under east Asia. About 70 to 65 million years ago, the Farallon plate was subducting under South America, the Kula Plate was subducting under North America and north-east Asia, and the Pacific Plate was subducting under east Asia and Papua New Guinea. About 35 million years ago, the Kula and Farallon plates had been subducted and the Pacific Plate was subducting around its rim in a configuration closely resembling the outline of the present-day Ring of Fire.[39][43][44]
Present-day plate configuration
The eastern parts of the Ring of Fire result from the collision of a few relatively large plates. The western parts of the Ring are more complex, with a number of large and small tectonic plates in collision.[45]
In South America, the Ring of Fire is the result of the Antarctic Plate, the Nazca Plate and the Cocos Plate being subducted beneath the South American Plate. In Central America, the Cocos Plate is being subducted beneath the Caribbean Plate. A portion of the Pacific Plate and the small Juan de Fuca Plate are being subducted beneath the North American Plate. Along the northern portion, the northwestward-moving Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the Aleutian Islands arc. Farther west, the Pacific Plate is being subducted at the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril arcs. Farther south, at Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines, the Philippine Plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian Plate. The southwest section of the Ring of Fire is more complex, with a number of smaller tectonic plates in collision with the Pacific Plate at the Mariana Islands, the Philippines, eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, and New Zealand; this part of the Ring excludes Australia, because that landmass lies in the center of its tectonic plate far from subduction zones.[45]
Subduction zones and oceanic trenches
If a tectonic plate's oceanic lithosphere is subducted beneath oceanic lithosphere of another plate, a volcanic island arc is created at the subduction zone. An example in the Ring of Fire is the Mariana Arc in the western Pacific Ocean. If, however, oceanic lithosphere is subducted under continental lithosphere, then a volcanic continental arc forms; a Ring of Fire example is the coast of Chile.[2]
The steepness of the descending plate at a subduction zone depends on the age of the oceanic lithosphere that is being subducted. The older the oceanic lithosphere being subducted, the steeper the angle of descent of the subducted slab. As the Pacific's mid-ocean ridges, which are the source of its oceanic lithosphere, are not actually in the middle of the ocean but located much closer to South America than to Asia, the oceanic lithosphere consumed at the South American subduction zones is younger and therefore subduction occurs at the South American coast at a relatively shallow angle. Older oceanic lithosphere is subducted in the western Pacific, with steeper angles of slab descent. This variation affects, for example, the location of volcanoes relative to the ocean trench, lava composition, type and severity of earthquakes, sediment accretion, and the amount of compression or tension. A spectrum of subduction zones exists between the Chilean and Mariana end members.[46][2]
Oceanic trenches
Oceanic trenches are the topographic expression of subduction zones on the floor of the oceans. Oceanic trenches associated with the Ring of Fire's subduction zones are:
- Peru–Chile Trench
- Middle America Trench
- Aleutian Trench
- Kuril–Kamchatka Trench
- Japan Trench
- Ryukyu Trench
- Izu–Bonin Trench
- Mariana Trench
- Yap Trench
- Philippine Trench
- Tonga Trench
- Kermadec Trench
- Hikurangi Trench
Gaps
Subduction zones around the Pacific Ocean do not form a complete ring. Where subduction zones are absent, there are corresponding gaps in subduction-related volcanic belts in the Ring of Fire. In some gaps there is no volcanic activity; in other gaps, volcanic activity does occur but it is caused by processes not related to subduction.
There are gaps in the Ring of Fire at some parts of the Pacific coast of the Americas. In some places, the gaps are thought to be caused by
Distribution of volcanoes
Continent | Country | Region | Volcanoes (subduction zone) | Volcanoes (other) | Comments | Consensus for inclusion |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antarctica | Antarctic Peninsula (Graham Land) | 0 | 3 intraplate | No | ||
Antarctica | South Shetland Islands | 0 | 4 intraplate | intraplate rift volcanoes associated with back-arc rifting linked to subduction | No | |
South America | Chile | 71 | 0 | excluding Easter Island (oceanic rift) | Yes | |
South America | Chile-Argentina | 18 | 0 | border shared by two countries | Yes | |
South America | Argentina | 15 | 4 intraplate | no coast on the Pacific Ocean | No | |
South America | Chile-Bolivia | 6 | 0 | border shared by two countries | Yes | |
South America | Bolivia | 5 | 0 | no coast on the Pacific Ocean | No | |
South America | Chile-Peru | 1 | 0 | border shared by two countries | Yes | |
South America | Peru | 16 | 0 | Yes | ||
South America | Ecuador | 21 | 0 | excluding the Galápagos Islands (hotspot) | Yes | |
South America | Ecuador-Colombia | 1 | 0 | border shared by two countries | Yes | |
South America | Colombia | 13 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | Panama | 2 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | Costa Rica | 10 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | Nicaragua | 17 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | Honduras | 4 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | El Salvador | 18 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | El Salvador-Guatemala | 2 | 0 | border shared by two countries | Yes | |
North America | Guatemala | 21 | 0 | Yes | ||
North America | Guatemala-Mexico | 1 | 0 | border shared by two countries | Yes | |
North America | Mexico | 26 | 8 rift | excluding 3 oceanic rift volcanoes; 8 continental rift volcanoes in Baja California | Yes | |
North America | United States | California, Oregon, Washington | 22 | 9 rift | 9 continental rift volcanoes (6 in southern California and 3 in Oregon) | Yes |
North America | Canada | 6 | 16 intraplate | excluding 2 oceanic rift volcanoes | Yes | |
North America | United States | Alaska | 80 | 4 intraplate in southeast Alaska | including 39 volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands; excluding 4 intraplate volcanoes in western Alaska far from subduction zone | Yes |
Asia | Russia | Kamchatka | 67 | 0 | including 1 submarine volcano (Piip) in the Aleutian arc | Yes |
Asia | Russia | Kuril Islands | 44 | 0 | including 3 submarine volcanoes; 15 volcanoes claimed by Japan | Yes |
Asia | Japan | 81 | 0 | excluding the Izu Islands and the Bonin Islands | Yes | |
Asia | Taiwan | 4 | 0 | including 2 submarine volcanoes | Yes | |
Japan | Izu Islands and Bonin Islands | 26 | 0 | including 13 submarine volcanoes | No | |
United States | Northern Mariana Islands and Guam | 25 | 0 | including 16 submarine volcanoes | No | |
Asia | Philippines | 41 | 0 | including 1 submarine volcano | Yes | |
Asia | Indonesia | western islands | 70 | Sangeang (i.e. the Sunda Arc,[49] north of the Sunda subduction zone between the Australian Plate and the Sunda Plate )
|
No | |
Asia | Indonesia | eastern islands | 54 | Yes | ||
Papua New Guinea | 47 | 1 rift | including 2 submarine volcanoes | Yes | ||
Solomon Islands | 8 | 0 | including 4 submarine volcanoes | Yes | ||
Vanuatu | 14 | 0 | Yes | |||
claimed by Vanuatu and France (New Caledonia) | 2 | 1 rift | Hunter Island and Matthew Island; East Gemini Seamount is a seamount at an oceanic rift | Yes | ||
Fiji | 3 | 0 | Yes | |||
France | Wallis and Futuna | 1 | 0 | mantle plume and subduction[50] | No | |
Samoa | 2 | 0 | mantle plume and subduction[50] | No | ||
United States | American Samoa | 4 | 0 | mantle plume and subduction;[50][51] including 1 submarine seamount | No | |
Tonga | 17 | 3 rift | including 13 submarine volcanoes, 3 of which are subduction-related back-arc rift volcanoes[52] | Yes | ||
between Tonga and Kermadec Islands | 1 | 0 | Monowai submarine seamount (between the exclusive economic zones of Tonga and New Zealand[53]) | Yes | ||
New Zealand | Kermadec Islands | 6 | 0 | including 4 submarine volcanoes | Yes | |
New Zealand | 20 | 0 | excluding the Kermadec Islands; including 8 submarine volcanoes | Yes | ||
Total | 913 | 59 |
Very large events
Volcanic eruptions
The four largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the
Earthquakes
About 90%[5] of the world's earthquakes and most of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.[note 4] The next most seismically active region (5–6% of earthquakes and some of the world's largest earthquakes) is the Alpide belt, which extends from central Indonesia to the northern Atlantic Ocean via the Himalayas and southern Europe.[6][7]
From 1900 to the end of 2020, most earthquakes of magnitude
- 1960 Valdivia earthquake, Chile (magnitude Mw 9.4–9.6)
- 1964 Alaska earthquake, Alaska, United States (magnitude Mw 9.2)
- 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan (magnitude Mw 9.0–9.1)
- 1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake, Kamchatka, Russia (magnitude Mw 9.0)
Antarctica
Some geologists include the volcanoes of the
The Balleny Islands, located between Antarctica and New Zealand, are volcanic but their volcanism is not related to subduction;[58] therefore, they are not part of the Ring of Fire.
South America
The world's highest active volcano is Ojos del Salado (6,893 m or 22,615 ft), which is in the Andes Mountains section of the Ring of Fire. It forms part of the border between Argentina and Chile and it last erupted in AD 750.[59] Another Ring of Fire Andean volcano on the Argentina-Chile border is Llullaillaco (6,739 m or 22,110 ft), which is the world's highest historically active volcano, last erupting in 1877.[60]
Chile
Chile has experienced numerous volcanic eruptions from about 90 volcanoes during the Holocene Epoch.[3]
Villarrica, with its lava of basaltic-andesitic composition, is one of only five volcanoes worldwide known to have an active
A two-kilometre-wide (1+1⁄4 mi) postglacial caldera is located at the base of the presently active dominantly basaltic-to-andesitic cone at the northwest margin of the Pleistocene caldera. About 25 scoria cones dot Villarica's flanks. Plinian eruptions and pyroclastic flows have been produced during the Holocene from this dominantly basaltic volcano, but historical eruptions have consisted of largely mild-to-moderate explosive activity with occasional lava effusion. Lahars from the glacier-covered volcanoes have damaged towns on its flanks.
The Llaima Volcano is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Chile. It is situated 82 km (51 mi) northeast of
Lascar is a stratovolcano and the most active volcano of the northern Chilean Andes. The largest eruption of Lascar took place about 26,500 years ago, and following the eruption of the Tumbres scoria flow about 9,000 years ago, activity shifted back to the eastern edifice, where three overlapping craters were formed. Frequent small-to-moderate explosive eruptions have been recorded from Lascar in historical time since the mid-19th century, along with periodic larger eruptions that produced ash and tephra fall up to hundreds of kilometers away from the volcano. The largest eruption of Lascar in recent history took place in 1993, producing pyroclastic flows as far as 8.5 km (5 mi) northwest of the summit and ash fall in Buenos Aires, Argentina, more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) to the southeast.
Chiliques is a stratovolcano located in the Antofagasta Region of Chile, immediately north of Cerro Miscanti. Laguna Lejía lies to the north of the volcano and has been dormant for at least 10,000 years, but is now showing signs of life. A January 6, 2002, nighttime thermal infrared image from ASTER revealed a hot spot in the summit crater, as well as several others along the upper flanks of the volcano's edifice, indicating new volcanic activity. Examination of an earlier nighttime thermal infrared image from May 24, 2000, showed no such hot spots.[62]
The volcanoes in Chile are monitored by the National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN)[64][65]
Earthquake activity in Chile is related to subduction of the Nazca Plate to the east. Chile notably holds the record for the
Argentina
Bolivia
Bolivia hosts active and extinct volcanoes across its territory. The active volcanoes are located in western Bolivia where they make up the
Peru
Sabancaya is an active 5,976-metre (19,606 ft) stratovolcano in the Andes of southern Peru, about 100 km (60 mi) northwest of Arequipa. It is the most active volcano in Peru, with an ongoing eruption that started in 2016.
Ubinas is another active volcano of 5,672-metre (18,609 ft) in southern Peru; its most recent eruption occurred in 2019.[68]
Volcanoes in Peru are monitored by the Peruvian Geophysical Institute.[69]
Ecuador
Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes, located about 50 km (30 mi) south of Quito, Ecuador, South America.[70] It is the second-highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m (19,347 ft). Since 1738, Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys formed by mudflows around the volcano.
In October 1999, Pichincha Volcano erupted in Quito and covered the city with several inches of ash. Prior to that, the last major eruptions were in 1553[71] and in 1660, when about 30 cm of ash fell on the city.[72]
At 5,286 m (17,343 ft),
Reventador is an active stratovolcano that lies in the eastern Andes of Ecuador. Since 1541, it has erupted over 25 times, with its most recent eruption starting in 2008 and, as of 2020[update], still ongoing,[74] but the largest historical eruption occurred in 2002. During that eruption, the plume from the volcano reached a height of 17 km (10+1⁄2 mi), and pyroclastic flows reached 7 km (4.3 mi) from the cone. On March 30, 2007, the volcano erupted ash again, which reached a height of about 3 km (2 mi).
In Ecuador, EPN monitors volcanic activity.
Colombia
North America
Central America
Panama
Costa Rica
Poás Volcano is an active 2,708-metre (8,885 ft) stratovolcano located in central Costa Rica; it has erupted 39 times since 1828.
The Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI, Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica) at the National University of Costa Rica[75] has a dedicated team in charge of researching and monitoring the volcanoes, earthquakes, and other tectonic processes in the Central America Volcanic Arc.
Nicaragua
Honduras
El Salvador
Guatemala
In 1902, the
North American Cordillera
Mexico
Volcanoes of Mexico related to subduction of the Cocos and Rivera plates occur in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, which extends 900 km (560 mi) from west to east across central-southern Mexico. Popocatépetl, lying in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, is the second-highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba. It is one of the most active volcanoes in Mexico, having had more than 20 major eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. The 1982 eruption of El Chichón, which killed about 2,000 people who lived near the volcano, created a 1-km-wide caldera that filled with an acidic crater lake. Before 1982, this relatively unknown volcano was heavily forested and of no greater height than adjacent nonvolcanic peaks.[76]
United States
The Cascade Volcanic Arc lies in the western United States. This arc includes nearly 20 major volcanoes, among a total of over 4,000 separate volcanic vents including numerous stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, lava domes, and cinder cones, along with a few isolated examples of rarer volcanic forms such as tuyas. Volcanism in the arc began about 37 million years ago, but most of the present-day Cascade volcanoes are less than 2 million years old, and the highest peaks are less than 100,000 years old. The arc is formed by the subduction of the Gorda and Juan de Fuca plates at the Cascadia subduction zone. This is a 1,090-kilometre-long (680 mi) fault, running 80 km (50 mi) off the coast of the Pacific Northwest from northern California to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The plates move at a relative rate of over 10 mm (0.4 in) per year at an oblique angle to the subduction zone.
Because of the very large fault area, the Cascadia subduction zone can produce very large earthquakes, magnitude 9.0 or greater, if rupture occurred over its whole area. When the "locked" zone stores energy for an earthquake, the "transition" zone, although somewhat plastic, can rupture. Thermal and deformation studies indicate that the locked zone is fully locked for 60 km (37 mi) down-dip from the deformation front. Further down-dip, a transition from fully locked to aseismic sliding occurs.
Unlike most subduction zones worldwide, no oceanic trench is present along the continental margin in Cascadia. Instead, terranes and the accretionary wedge have been lifted up to form a series of coast ranges and exotic mountains. A high rate of sedimentation from the outflow of the three major rivers (Fraser River, Columbia River, and Klamath River) which cross the Cascade Range contributes to further obscuring the presence of a trench. However, in common with most other subduction zones, the outer margin is slowly being compressed, similar to a giant spring. When the stored energy is suddenly released by slippage across the fault at irregular intervals, the Cascadia subduction zone can create very large earthquakes such as the magnitude-9 Cascadia earthquake of 1700. Geological evidence indicates that great earthquakes may have occurred at least seven times in the last 3,500 years, suggesting a return time of 400 to 600 years. Also, evidence of accompanying tsunamis with every earthquake is seen, as the prime reason these earthquakes are known is through "scars" the tsunamis left on the coast, and through Japanese records (tsunami waves can travel across the Pacific).
The
The United States Geological Survey and the National Earthquake Information Center monitor volcanoes and earthquakes in the United States.
Canada
British Columbia and
The Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province is an area of numerous volcanoes, which are caused by continental rifting not subduction; therefore geologists often regard it as a gap in the Pacific Ring of Fire between the Cascade Volcanic Arc further south and Alaska's Aleutian Arc further north.[79]
The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt in southwestern British Columbia is the northern extension of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the United States (which includes Mount Baker and Mount St. Helens) and contains the most explosive young volcanoes in Canada.[80] It formed as a result of subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate (a remnant of the much larger Farallon Plate) under the North American Plate along the Cascadia subduction zone.[80] The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt includes the Bridge River Cones, Mount Cayley, Mount Fee, Mount Garibaldi, Mount Price, Mount Meager massif, the Squamish Volcanic Field, and more smaller volcanoes. The eruption styles in the belt range from effusive to explosive, with compositions from basalt to rhyolite. Morphologically, centers include calderas, cinder cones, stratovolcanoes and small isolated lava masses. Due to repeated continental and alpine glaciations, many of the volcanic deposits in the belt reflect complex interactions between magma composition, topography, and changing ice configurations. The most recent major catastrophic eruption in the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt was an explosive eruption of the Mount Meager massif about 2,350 years ago. It was similar to the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens,[80] sending an ash column about 20 km into the stratosphere.[81]
The Chilcotin Group is a north–south range of volcanoes in southern British Columbia running parallel to the Garibaldi Volcanic Belt. The majority of the eruptions in this belt happened either 6–10 million years ago (Miocene) or 2–3 million years ago (Pliocene), although with some slightly more recent eruptions (in the Pleistocene).[82] It is thought to have formed as a result of back-arc extension behind the Cascadia subduction zone.[82] Volcanoes in this belt include Mount Noel, the Clisbako Caldera Complex, Lightning Peak, Black Dome Mountain, and many lava flows.
Eruptions of basaltic to rhyolitic volcanoes and
The active
The Public Safety Geo-science Program at the Natural Resources Canada undertakes research to support risk reduction from the effects of space weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, and landslides.[84]
Asia
Russia
The
Active,
Japan
About 10% of the world's active volcanoes are found in Japan, which lies in a zone of extreme crustal instability. They are formed by subduction of the Pacific Plate and the
Mount Fuji is Japan's highest and most noted volcano, featuring heavily in Japanese culture and serving as one of the country's most popular landmarks. The modern postglacial stratovolcano is constructed above a group of overlapping volcanoes, remnants of which form irregularities on Fuji's profile. Growth of the younger Mount Fuji began with a period of voluminous lava flows from 11,000 to 8,000 years ago, accounting for four-fifths of the volume of the younger Mount Fuji. Minor explosive eruptions dominated activity from 8,000 to 4,500 years ago, with another period of major lava flows occurring from 4,500 to 3,000 years ago. Subsequently, intermittent major explosive eruptions occurred, with subordinate lava flows and small pyroclastic flows. Summit eruptions dominated from 3,000 to 2,000 years ago, after which flank vents were active. The extensive basaltic lava flows from the summit and some of the more than 100 flank cones and vents blocked drainage against the Tertiary Misaka Mountains on the north side of the volcano, forming the Fuji Five Lakes. The last eruption of this dominantly basaltic volcano in 1707 ejected andesitic pumice and formed a large new crater on the east flank. Some minor volcanic activity may occur in the next few years.
Taiwan
Philippines
The 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo is the world's second-largest eruption of the 20th century. Successful predictions of the onset of the climactic eruption led to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from the surrounding areas, saving many lives, but as the surrounding areas were severely damaged by pyroclastic flows, ash deposits, and later, lahars caused by rainwater remobilising earlier volcanic deposits, thousands of houses were destroyed.
Taal Volcano has had 33 recorded eruptions since 1572. A devastating eruption occurred in 1911, which claimed more than a thousand lives. The deposits of that eruption consist of a yellowish, fairly decomposed (nonjuvenile) tephra with a high sulfur content. The most recent period of activity lasted from 1965 to 1977, and was characterized by the interaction of magma with the lake water, which produced violent phreatic and phreatomagmatic eruptions. The volcano was dormant from 1977 then showed signs of unrest since 1991 with strong seismic activity and ground-fracturing events, as well as the formation of small mud geysers on parts of the island. An eruption occurred in January 2020.
Indonesia
Indonesia is located where the Ring of Fire around the Pacific Ocean meets the Alpide belt (which runs from Southeast Asia to Southwest Europe).
The eastern islands of Indonesia (Sulawesi, the Lesser Sunda Islands (excluding Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Sangeang), Halmahera, the Banda Islands and the Sangihe Islands) are geologically associated with subduction of the Pacific Plate or its related minor plates and, therefore, the eastern islands are often regarded as part of the Ring of Fire.
The western islands of Indonesia (the Sunda Arc of Sumatra, Krakatoa, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa and Sangeang) are located north of a subduction zone in the Indian Ocean. Although news media, popular science publications and some geologists include the western islands (and their notable volcanoes such as Krakatoa, Merapi, Tambora and Toba) in the Ring of Fire, geologists often exclude the western islands from the Ring; instead the western islands are often included in the Alpide belt.[88]
Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Vanuatu
Fiji
Samoa
Tonga
New Zealand
New Zealand contains the world's strongest concentration of youthful rhyolitic volcanoes, and voluminous sheets of
The
Soil
The soils of the Pacific Ring of Fire include andosols, also known as andisols; they have formed by the weathering of volcanic ash. Andosols contain large proportions of volcanic glass.[94] The Ring of Fire is the world's main location for this soil type, which typically has good levels of fertility.[95]
See also
- Decade Volcanoes – Set of sixteen volcanoes noted for their eruptive history and proximity to densely populated areas
- Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project – Scientific project studying carbon transfer from Earth's interior
- Geology of the Pacific Northwest – Geology of Oregon and Washington (United States) and British Columbia (Canada)
- Pacific Rim – Land area comprising the rim of the Pacific Ocean
Notes
- ^ Spanish: cinturón de fuego del Pacífico, anillo de fuego del Pacífico; Malay: Lingkaran api Pasifik; Indonesian: Cincin Api Pasifik; Filipino: Singsing ng Apoy ng Pasipiko; Chinese: 环太平洋火山带 Huán Taìpíngyáng Huǒshān Daì; Russian: Тихоокеанское вулканическое огненное кольцо, romanized: Tikhookeanskoye vulkanicheskoye ognennoye kol'tso; Japanese: 環太平洋火山帯, romanized: Kantaiheiyō kazan-tai or 環太平洋造山帯 Kantaiheiyō zōzantai.
- ^ Macdonald (1972) listed 361 historically active volcanoes in the Ring of Fire (or 398 historically active volcanoes if the western islands of Indonesia are included).[12]
- ^ Twenty-two if the western islands of Indonesia are included.
- ^ if Antarctica and the western islands of Indonesia are excluded[26]
- ^ 79 of 95 earthquakes (if the western islands of Indonesia are excluded).[55]
References
- NOAA. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ .
- ^ .
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External links
- Historic Earthquakes & Earthquake Statistics at the United States Geological Survey
- DESCRIPTION: "Ring of Fire", Plate Tectonics, Sea-Floor Spreading, Subduction Zones, "Hot Spots" at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington Web site.
- Map of the Ring of Fire Archived 2006-02-06 at the Wayback Machine
- Ring of Fire, tectonic activity
- The Ring of Fire at work
- Physical World Map 2004-04-01 CIA World Factbook; Robinson Projection; standard parallels 38°N and 38°S