3.

1 TRACING THE RING

OF FIRE
ESSENTIAL QUESTION:
How safe is it to live on the Ring of
Fire?
 The Ring of Fire is a string of underwater volcanoes
and earthquake sites around the edges of the Pacific
Ocean.

 Most active volcanoes are located underwater

 Stretches for nearly 25, 000 miles running in the shape of

a horseshoe (as oppose to actual ring)

 Form the southern tip of South America, along west

coast of North America, across the Bering Strait, down
through Japan and into New Zealand

 Much of the volcanic activity occurs along subduction

zones ( melting of the plates produces magma erupting
to the surface as a volcano), where deepest trenches are
 Facts
• The Ring of Fire is 40,000 km long and is
shape as a horse shoe. The Ring of Fire has
452 volcanoes and is home to 75% of the
world's active and dormant volcanoes.

• It is sometimes called the circum-Pacific

belt or the circum-Pacific seismic belt.
90% of the world's earthquakes and 80%
of the world's largest earthquakes occur
along the Ring of Fire.
• The eastern section of the ring is the result of the
NAZCA PLATE and the COCOS PLATE being
SUBDUCTED beneath the westward moving SOUTH
AMERICAN PLATE
• The COCOS PLATE is being SUBDUCTED beneath the
westward moving SOUTH AMERICAN
• The COCOS PLATE is being SUBDUCTED beneath the
CARRIBEAN PLATE IN CENTRAL AMERICA
• A portion of the PACIFIC PLATE along with 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
along the KAMCHATKA PENINSULA arcs on south past
JAPAN
 TOP 10 COUNTRIES ON THE RING OF FIRE

10. Canada
The Pacific tectonic Plate and North
American Plate meet right along the west coast
of Canada, creating a zone prone to earthquakes
and volcanic eruptions. The population of
Canada means that death tolls are thankfully low.
However the country has recorded quakes up to
9.0 magnitude and some of the most powerful
ever recorded.
9. Alaska
Alaska sites on the North American tectonic Plate with the Pacific
Plate running off its southern coast. As the population of Alaska is low
and many areas are wilderness, death tolls remain thankfully low.
However some of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded have occurred
here.
Natural disasters in Alaska include:
1912. The Novarupta volcano erupted about 460 km (290 miles)
from Anchorage. It was the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century
and in the top 5 volcanic eruptions ever recorded. Ash was sent 100,000
feet into the air, basically to the edge of space. In the coming days the
ash cloud would travel across the globe. Fortunately there were a number
of earthquakes prior to the eruption and people fled the area. If such an
eruption happened in New York the city would be destroyed and
Philadelphia would be covered in one foot of ash.
1964. The Great Alaskan Earthquake measured 9.2 magnitude,
making it the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded. There
were 139 deaths and a tsunami that destroyed a number of Alaskan
villages as well property as far away as Hawaii, Japan, California and
Oregon. The largest tsunami wave occurred at Shoup Bay in Alaska where
8. New Zealand
The Pacific Plate takes a detour at New Guinea, heading east
into the South Pacific and then sharply south to New Zealand. New
Zealand marks the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-
Australian Plate.
Natural disasters in New Zealand include:
1886. Mount Tarawera volcano erupted killing more than 100
people.
1929. An earthquake at Murchison was felt around the country
and killed 17 people as well as causing large landslides.
1931. The Hawke’s Bay earthquake measured 7.8 on the
Richter scale and wrecked much of Hastings and Napier. More than
250 people died.
1968. A magnitude 7.1 earthquake near the community of
Inangahua Juction kills three people and causes extensive damage.
2011. An earthquake in Christchurch kills 185 people, injures
thousands and topples many city buildings.
7. United States
The US is famous for the San Andreas Fault that runs through
California. This fault marks the boundary between the Pacific Tectonic
Plate and the North American Tectonic Plate.
Natural disasters in the US include:
1857. Fort Tejon on the San Andreas Fault experienced a
magnitude 7.9 earthquake that was stronger than the subsequent San
Francisco earthquake. Although loss of life and property was low due to
population density, it is a reminder of the potential strength of
earthquakes in the US.

1906. The San Francisco earthquake killed more than 3,000

people and caused fires throughout the city. As much as 80% of the city
was destroyed.

1952. Kern County in California experienced a 7.3 magnitude

earthquake that claimed 12 lives and caused damage are far away as
Nevada.

1980. In Washington State, the Mount St. Helen volcano erupts

6. Kamchatka Peninsula
Natural disasters on the Kamchatka Peninsula include:
The Kamchatka Peninsula, part of Russia, lies on the
Eurasian Plate at a pivoting point with the Pacific Plate. While
information regarding deaths in the region are sketchy some of
the largest earthquakes and tsunamis recorded have come from
the region.

1923. An earthquake estimated to be a magnitude 8.5

caused a tsunami that inundated areas of Kamchatka. The
resulting wave was still 6 m (20 ft) high when it struck Hawaii

1952. One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded,

estimated to be a 9.0 magnitude, occurred around 130 km’s (80
miles) offshore from Kamchatka. It caused a massive tsunami that
caused several large waves up to 18 m (60 ft) high. This
devastated many settlements on the peninsula and the tsunami
waves were felt across the Pacific Ocean. More than 2,000 people
died.
5. Mexico
The Middle America Trench runs along the Mexican
coast and marks the joint between the Cocos, North
American and Pacific Plates. The country has a history of
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
Natural disasters in Mexico include:
1973. An earthquake in Veracruz left as many as
1,200 people dead.

1982. El Chichon volcano erupted killing 2,000

people.

1985. The Mexico City earthquake caused an

estimated 10,000 deaths although authorities believe it
could be four times this number. Thousands of buildings
throughout the city were damaged.
4. Chile
This is one of the only countries that doesn’t touch the
Pacific Plate. Instead it lies along the border of the Nazca and South
American plates but is still considered to be part of the Ring of Fire.
Chile records high levels of rainfall that add to earthquakes and
tsunamis as natural disasters to be feared here.
Chilean natural disasters include:
1868. An earthquake and massive tsunami kill 25,000 people.
1939. The 1939 Chilean earthquake was 8.3 magnitude and
killed as many as 28,000 people. 95% of houses in the city of
Concepcion were destroyed.
1960. The Valdivia earthquake was the largest earthquake
ever recorded at magnitude 9.5. Up to 5,700 die and the resulting
tsunami reaches Hawaii, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the
Philippines.
2010. An 8.8 magnitude earthquake off the Chilean coast,
the sixth largest ever recorded, caused a tsunami that devastated
coastal communities of Chile and even reached California where San
Diego suffered damage. More than 500 people died and 370,000
3. Philippines
Sitting between Indonesia and Japan, the Philippines
have their very own tectonic plate, surrounded by the Pacific
Plate on the east and the Eurasian Plate to the west. The
Philippine Trench and Marianas Trench mark these boundaries.
Natural disasters in the Philippines include:
1911. Taal volcano erupts killing over 1,300 people.
1976. An earthquake in the Moro Gulf and the
subsequent tsunami killed up to 8,000 people with many more
missing or injured.
1990. This Luzon Island earthquake killed more than
1,600 people.
1991. Mount Pinatubo erupts in what was the second
largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. Over 800 people
perished but it is estimated that tens of thousands of people
were saved by evacuation procedures in the lead up to the
blast.
2013. Tropical Cyclone Yolanda (a massive hurricane),
one of the largest storms recorded anywhere in the world
2. Japan
The islands of Japan sit at the confluence of four tectonic
plates – the Pacific, North American, Eurasian and Philippine. Japan
has around 10% of all the earthquakes in the world, 10% of all the
active volcanoes in the world and regular typhoons (hurricanes).
Japan certainly challenges Indonesia as the most dangerous place on
earth in terms of natural disasters.
Japanese natural disasters include:
1923. The Great Kanto Earthquake killed more than 100,000
people in and around Tokyo.
1993. The Hokkaido earthquake killed 202 people.
1995. An earthquake in Kobe killed more than 6,000 people.
2006. Typhoon Ewiniar kills 141 people. (It is thought that up
to 10,000 people were killed by flooding in North Korea as a result of
Typhoon Ewiniar.
2011. The Japanese tsunami of 2011 followed an earthquake
70 km’s (43 miles) from the coast. It was a magnitude 9.0
earthquake, the fifth largest ever recorded. It created an upthrust on
the ocean bed of up to 8 metres along a 180 km front. The tsunami
was as high as 40 m (133 ft) and went as far as 10 km (6 miles)
1. Indonesia
Indonesia consistently suffers from the worst natural disasters in the world.
They have had some of the largest earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis ever
recorded and lost more life than any other country in the world to natural disasters.
The islands that make up Indonesia, Sumatra and Java in particular, run
along the length of a major subduction zone known as the Java Trench (also called
the Sunda Trench). This is where the Eurasian Plate meets the Indo-Australian
Plate.The island of Java has 22 active volcanoes and 120 million people live on the
island.
Indonesian natural disasters include:
1815. Mount Tambora erupts killing over 90,000 people. It remains one of
the most powerful volcanic eruptions ever recorded.
1883. The volcanic island of Krakatau erupts. More than 36,000 people
died. It was so loud it was heard in Perth, Australia. If a person had been within ten
miles of it they would have been deafened. The shockwave circled the earth seven
times. Ash went 80 km (50 miles) high and average global temperatures fell by 1.2
degrees the following year.
2004. The third largest earthquake ever recorded; magnitude 9.3, off the coast of
Sumatra. A number of tsunami’s resulted killing 167,000 Indonesians and more than
230,000 people in 14 countries.
2006. An earthquake just south of Yogyakarta on the island of Java kills
over 5,000 people and injures more than 35,000. It is thought up to 1.5 million
 The earthquake that caused the
2011 tsunami in Japan was so big that
it accelerated the spin of the Earth.
Our days are now 1.8 microseconds
shorter than they were. Geologists
reported that St. Louis moved during
the quake. It was only a fraction of an
inch, but it was half a world away.
Essential Question:
What lies beneath a volcano?

LESSON 3.2 VOLCANOES

Volcanoes
* Subduction – the convergent
movement of tectonic plates whereby a
denser plate is pushed beneath a lighter one
* Volcanoes are formed in subduction
zones.
* denser oceanic plate subducts
beneath the continental plate
* two oceanic plates with different
densities – may result in underwater
volcanoes ( Pacific plate and Philippine plate)