Fun Facts
1. The Ring Of Fire is 40,000km long. 2. Home to a string of 452 volcanoes. 3. Shaped like a horse shoe. 4. The Ring Of Fire is not only home to volcanoes but mountain trenches, ocean trenches, hydrothermal vents and earthquake activity. 5. Arcs create both islands and continental mountain ranges. 6. Most active volcanoes are found on the Western edge (Kamchatka to Peninsula in Russia, through islands of Japan and Southeast Asia to New Zealand). 7. Mount Ruapehu in New Zealand is 2,797 metres tall and has eruptions about every 50 years. (Picture of Hydrothermal Vent).
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ring Of FireThe Ring Of Fire is a string of volcanoes, earthquakes and sites of seismic activity. It is located around the Pacific Ocean, stretching from South America to New Zealand. Some of the volcanoes are extremely dangerous posing a threat to millions of people. All of this is a result of tectonic plates.
The majority of faults on earth are found along transform boundaries throughout The Ring Of Fire. A fault is a crack in the earths crust. Faults such as San Andreas Fault are part of The Ring Of Fire. San Andreas Fault is considered one of the most active faults. This means that the fault is likely to be a source of another earthquake.
If there were to be a huge drought, causing all water to be sucked out of the Pacific Ocean, there would be deep ocean trenches. They would run parallel to corresponding volcanic arcs along The Ring Of Fire.
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Popocatépetl
One of the most dangerous volcanoes, Popocatépetl can be found at The Ring Of Fire. Popocatépetl is one of Mexico's most active volcanoes. Since 1519 there have been 15 recorded eruptions. Like most volcanoes this one is lying on tectonic plates. Popocatépetl is sitting on the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, where the small Cocos Plate is subducting under the North American Plate. If Popocatépetl was to erupt, more than 20 million people would be at risk.