The Ring of Fire is home for the most active volcanoes and earthquakes on the edges of the Pacific Ocean. This term describes an area on the Earth that holds most of the world’s earthquake sites and active mountains. Frequently, small and big quakes occur around the belt while volcanoes erupt everyday. The Ring of Fire has a total of 452 volcanoes and it has 75% of the Earth’s dynamic and asleep volcanoes. On the other hand, 90% of earthquakes occur in the zone. Over 1,500 earthquakes are recorded yearly, although those of 4 to 6 magnitudes are not common.

The Circum-Pacific belt extends about 40,000 kilometers (24,900 miles). It is also located in the Pacific Ocean. This zone stands atop places where many of the Earth’s tectonic plates meet.

Some plates are as big or even bigger than entire continents. These big plates can slide below one another or rub up against each other. This sliding and slipping can produce volcanoes and earthquakes.

At times, eruption and earth motions occur within a few days in distant places along the Ring of Fire. The crazy part is, an earthquake or volcano in one place doesn’t trigger other ones far away.

The Most Affected Countries

Countries that sit around the Ring of Fire experience earthquakes and volcanoes every year. Earthquakes of magnitude of 6.0 and 7.0 struck every year. While, some such as a 8.0 and 9.0 magnitude hit every decade in the tectonic subduction zone. The country that keeps getting hit the most in the last ten years is Chile, because the Nazca Plate is sub-ducting beneath the South American Plate. The last time a 9.0 or more struck was in Japan, Mar.2011. Countries such as Mexico, United States, Russia, Indonesia, Peru, Ecuador, New Zealand, Costa Rica, and Canada, also experience quakes yearly.

Meanwhile, volcanoes are mostly active in Indonesia, Hawaii and Central America.But, Indonesia’s Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, located on the Ring of Fire, is home to many active volcanoes. In California, a volcano called Mount Shasta is currently active. The last time this dangerous volcano erupted was in 1786. But don’t worry, this volcano is still asleep and it could take years for the volcano to erupt again.