What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?

The Pacific Plate, which drives much of the tectonic activity in the Ring of Fire, is cooling off. Scientists have discovered that the youngest parts of the Pacific Plate (about 2 million years old) are cooling off and contracting at a faster rate than older parts of the plate (about 100 million years old). read more

The Ring of Fire is a 25,000 mile (40,000 km) horseshoe-shaped area of intense volcanic and seismic activity that follows the edges of the Pacific Ocean. read more

The Ring of Fire is sometimes called the circum-Pacific belt. About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. All but three of the world's 25 largest volcanic eruptions of the last 11,700 years occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire. read more