View source for Earth:Ring of Fire

{{short description|Region around the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur}}
[[File:Pacific Ring of Fire.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|The Pacific Ring of Fire, with trenches marked with blue lines]]
[[File:EQs 1900-2013 worldseis.png|thumb|upright=1.35|Global earthquakes (1900–2013)<br />12px: Earthquakes of magnitude ≥ 7.0 (depth 0–69km)<br />12px: Active volcanoes]]
[[File:Global subducted slabs USGS.png|thumb|upright=1.4|Global map of subduction zones, with subducted slabs contoured by depth]]
[[File:Subduction-en.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Diagram of the geological process of subduction]]

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'''){{refn|group=note|{{Lang-es|cinturón de fuego del Pacífico, anillo de fuego del Pacífico}}; {{Lang-ms|Lingkaran api Pasifik}}; {{Lang-id|Cincin Api Pasifik}}; {{Lang-fil|Singsing ng Apoy ng Pasipiko}}; {{Lang-zh|环太平洋火山带}} ''Huán Taìpíngyáng Huǒshān Daì''; {{Lang-ru|Тихоокеанское вулканическое огненное кольцо|Tikhookeanskoye vulkanicheskoye ognennoye kol'tso}}; {{Lang-ja|環太平洋火山帯|Kantaiheiyō kazan-tai}} or 環太平洋造山帯 ''Kantaiheiyō zōzantai''.}} is a tectonic belt of [[Earth:Volcano|volcano]]es and [[Earth:Earthquake|earthquake]]s. 

It is about {{convert|25,000|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip|-3}} long<ref name="NOAA_ROF">{{cite web | url=https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/rof.html | title=What is the Ring of Fire? | publisher=NOAA | access-date=5 December 2020}}</ref> and up to about {{convert|500|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide,<ref name="SternBloomer2020">{{cite journal |last1=Stern |first1=Robert J. |last2=Bloomer |first2=S. H. |title=Subduction zone |journal=Access Science |date=2020 |doi=10.1036/1097-8542.757381 |doi-access=free }}</ref> and surrounds most of the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]]. 

The Ring of Fire contains between 750 and 915 active or dormant volcanoes, around two-thirds of the world total.<ref name="GVPDatabase2020">{{cite journal |url=https://volcano.si.edu/gvp_votw.cfm |doi=10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013 |title=Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.3.4 |year=2013 |editor1-last=Venzke |editor1-first=E |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |journal=[[Earth:Global Volcanism Program|Global Volcanism Program]]}}</ref><ref name="Siebert_etal_2010">{{cite book | title=Volcanoes of the World | last1=Siebert | first1=L | last2=Simkin | first2=T. | last3=Kimberly | first3=P. | year=2010 | page=68| edition=3rd }}</ref>  The exact number of volcanoes within the Ring of Fire depends on which regions are included.

About 90% of the world's earthquakes,<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?termID=150 |title=Ring of Fire |publisher=USGS |date=July 24, 2012 |access-date=June 13, 2013}}</ref> including most of its largest,<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#1|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|title=Earthquakes FAQ|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060117041632/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html#1|archive-date=January 17, 2006}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/glossary/?term=Ring%20of%20Fire|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|title=Earthquakes Visual Glossary}}</ref> occur within the belt.

The Ring of Fire is not a single geological structure. It was created by the [[Earth:Subduction|subduction]] of different tectonic plates at convergent boundaries around the Pacific Ocean. These include: the [[Earth:Antarctic Plate|Antarctic]], [[Earth:Nazca Plate|Nazca]] and [[Earth:Cocos Plate|Cocos]] plates subducting beneath the [[Earth:South American Plate|South American Plate]]; the [[Earth:Pacific Plate|Pacific]] and [[Earth:Juan de Fuca Plate|Juan de Fuca]] plates beneath the [[Earth:North American Plate|North American Plate]]; the Philippine plate beneath the Eurasian plate; and a complex boundary between the Pacific and [[Earth:Australian Plate|Australian Plate]]. The inclusion of some areas in the Ring of Fire, such as the Antarctic Peninsula and western Indonesia, is disputed. The interactions at these plate boundaries have formed [[Earth:Oceanic trench|oceanic trench]]es, [[Earth:Volcanic arc|volcanic arc]]s, [[Earth:Back-arc basin|back-arc basin]]s and [[Earth:Volcanic belt|volcanic belt]]s.<ref name="WrightRothery1998">{{cite book | title=The Ocean Basins: Their Structure and Evolution | publisher=The Open University | last1=Wright | first1=John | last2=Rothery | first2=David A. | date=1998 | edition=2nd | chapter=The Shape of Ocean Basins | pages=26–53 | isbn=9780080537931}}</ref>

The Ring of Fire has existed for more than 35 million years<ref name="Pappas2020">{{cite news |last1=Pappas |first1=Stephanie |title=The lost continent of Zealandia hides clues to the Ring of Fire's birth |url=https://www.livescience.com/zealandia-tied-to-ring-of-fire.html |work=Live Science |date=11 February 2020 }}</ref> but subduction has existed for much longer in some parts of the Ring;<ref name="Schellart_2017">{{cite journal |last1=Schellart |first1=W. P. |title=Andean mountain building and magmatic arc migration driven by subduction-induced whole mantle flow |journal=Nature Communications |date=December 2017 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=2010 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-01847-z |pmid=29222524 |pmc=5722900 |bibcode=2017NatCo...8.2010S }}</ref> many older extinct volcanoes are located within the Ring.<ref name="GVPDatabase2020"/> More than 350 of the Ring of Fire's volcanoes have been active in historical times, <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Decker |first1=Robert |last2=Decker |first2=Barbara |title=The Eruptions of Mount St. Helens |journal=Scientific American |date=1981 |volume=244 |issue=3 |pages=68–81 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican0381-68 |jstor=24964328 |bibcode=1981SciAm.244c..68D }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name=MacdonaldActiveList|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).<ref name="Macdonald_1972_Active_List">{{cite book | title=Volcanoes | publisher=Prentice-Hall | last=Macdonald | first=G.A. | year=1972 | location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey | isbn=9780139422195|pages=346, 430–445}}</ref>}} while the four largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the Holocene epoch all occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire.<ref name=":4">{{cite book|last=Oppenheimer|first=Clive|year=2011|title=Eruptions that Shook the World|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|chapter=Appendix A|pages=355–363 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qW1UNwhuhnUC&pg=PA355 |isbn=978-0-521-64112-8}}</ref>

Most of Earth's active volcanoes with summits above sea level are located in the Ring of Fire.<ref>{{cite web|title=DESCRIPTION: "Ring of Fire", Plate Tectonics, Sea-Floor Spreading, Subduction Zones, "Hot Spots" |url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectonics/description_plate_tectonics.html |website=vulcan.wr.usgs.gov |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231014659/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectonics/description_plate_tectonics.html|archive-date=2005-12-31}}</ref> Many of these subaerial volcanoes are [[Earth:Stratovolcano|stratovolcano]]es (e.g. Mount St Helens), which are formed by [[Earth:Explosive eruption|explosive eruption]]s of tephra, alternating with [[Earth:Effusive eruption|effusive eruption]]s of lava flows. Lavas at the Ring of Fire's stratovolcanoes are mainly [[Earth:Andesite|andesite]] and [[Earth:Basaltic andesite|basaltic andesite]] but [[Earth:Dacite|dacite]], [[Earth:Rhyolite|rhyolite]], [[Earth:Basalt|basalt]] and some other rarer types also occur.<ref name="GVPDatabase2020"/> Other types of volcano are also found in the Ring of Fire, such as subaerial [[Earth:Shield volcano|shield volcano]]es (e.g. Plosky Tolbachik), and submarine [[Earth:Seamount|seamount]]s (e.g. [[Earth:Monowai (seamount)|Monowai]]).

==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 burning within the Earth.<ref name="EncycloVolc2015_History">{{Cite book | author-last=Sigurdsson | author-first=H. | chapter=The History of Volcanology | editor1-last=Sigurdsson | editor1-first=H. | title=Encyclopedia of Volcanoes | edition=2nd | pages=17–18 | publisher =Elsevier | location=Amsterdam | date=2015 | isbn=978-0-12-385938-9}}</ref> This historical link between volcanoes and fire is preserved in the name of the Ring of Fire, despite the fact that volcanoes do ''not'' burn the Earth with fire.

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"''.<ref name="GPScrope_1825">{{cite book |last1=Scrope |first1=G. Poulett |title=Considerations on Volcanos, the Probable Causes of Their Phenomena, the Laws which Determine Their March, Leading to the Establishment of a New Theory of the Earth |date=1825 |publisher=Phillips |pages=188–189 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vHlkAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA188 |oclc=609531382 }}</ref> 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 [[Earth:Tierra del Fuego|Tierra del Fuego]] around to the Moluccas." (''Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, 1852–54'').<ref name="Perry1856">{{cite book | title=Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, performed in the years 1852, 1853, and 1854, under the command of Commodore M. C. Perry, United States Navy | publisher=D. Appleton and Company | last=Hawkes | first=F.L. | year=1856 | location=New York | page=7}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p4o9AQAAIAAJ|title=Scientific American, "The Ring of Fire, and the Volcanic Peaks of the West Coast of the United States"|date=1878-07-13|publisher=Munn & Company|pages=26|language=en}}</ref> 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.".<ref name="Livingstone_1906">{{cite book | title=Complete Story of San Francisco's Terrible Calamity of Earthquake and Fire, the Most Appalling Disaster of Modern Times | last=Livingstone | first=Alexander P. | year=1906 | page=324}}</ref>

In 1912, geologist Patrick Marshall introduced the term "Andesite Line" to mark a boundary between islands in the southwest Pacific, which differ in volcano structure and lava types. The concept was later extended to other parts of the Pacific Ocean.<ref name="TeAra">{{cite web | url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/3m44/marshall-patrick | title=Marshall, Patrick | publisher=TeAra — The Encyclopedia of New Zealand | work=Dictionary of New Zealand Biography | date=1996 | access-date=18 December 2020 | first=W.A. | last=Watters}}</ref> The Andesite Line and the Ring of Fire closely match in terms of location.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/0-387-30845-8_39 |chapter=Circum-pacific plutonic and volcanic activity |title=Petrology |series=Encyclopedia of Earth Science |year=1989 |last1=Roddick |first1=J. A. |pages=98–103 |isbn=0-442-20623-2 }}</ref>

The development of the theory of [[Earth:Plate tectonics|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.<ref name=Lopes2005Chap2/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Schmincke |first1=Hans-Ulrich |title=Volcanism |date=2004 |pages=13, 17–20|publisher=Springer-Verlag |location=Berlin |isbn=978-3-540-43650-8 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-18952-4 |s2cid=220886233 }}</ref>

==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: {{section link||Distribution of volcanoes}}). Indonesia lies at the intersection of the Ring of Fire and the [[Earth:Alpide belt|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).<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chavez |first1=Nicole |title=Why Indonesia has so many earthquakes |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/29/asia/earthquakes-indonesia-explainer/index.html |work=CNN |date=29 September 2018 }}</ref><ref name="Decker&Decker_1991"/><ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=http://www.usgs.gov/faq/categories/9831/3342 |title=Where do earthquakes occur? |publisher=USGS |date=May 13, 2013 |access-date=June 13, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140805134145/http://www.usgs.gov/faq/categories/9831/3342 |archive-date=August 5, 2014 }}</ref> Some geologists include all of Indonesia in the Ring of Fire;<ref name="Schmincke_2004">{{cite book |last1=Schmincke |first1=Hans-Ulrich |title=Volcanism |date=2004 |isbn=978-3-540-43650-8 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-18952-4 |pages=55, 114 |s2cid=220886233 }}</ref> many geologists exclude Indonesia's western islands (which they include in the Alpide belt).<ref name="Macdonald_1972">{{cite book | title=Volcanoes | publisher=Prentice-Hall | last=Macdonald | first=G.A. | year=1972 | location=Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey | isbn=9780139422195 |pages=344–345}}</ref><ref name="Decker&Decker_1991">{{cite book | title=Mountains of Fire: The Nature of Volcanoes | last1=Decker | first1=R.W. | last2=Decker | first2=B.B. | year=1991 | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0521321761 | page=23}}</ref><ref name="Frances_Oppenheimer_2004">{{cite book | title=Volcanoes | last1=Francis | first1=P. | last2=Oppenheimer | first2=C. | date=2004 | publisher=Oxford University Press | publication-place=Oxford | isbn=0-19-925469-9 | pages=18–22| edition=2nd }}</ref><ref name="Hickson&Edwards2001">{{cite book |last1=Hickson |first1=C J |last2=Edwards |first2=B R |chapter=Volcanoes and volcanic hazards |pages=145–181 |doi=10.4095/212217 |date=2001 |editor1-last=Brooks |editor1-first=G R |title=A synthesis of geological hazards in Canada |series=Geological Survey of Canada, Bulletin 548 |publisher=Natural Resources Canada |oclc=1032874834 |isbn=978-0-660-18316-9 }}</ref><ref name="Francis_1993">{{cite book |last1=Francis |first1=Peter |title=Volcanoes: A Planetary Perspective |date=1993 |publisher=Clarendon Press |isbn=978-0-19-854452-4 |pages=18–22 }}</ref>

Some geologists include the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands in the Ring of Fire,<ref name="Frances_Oppenheimer_2004"/><ref name="Hickson&Edwards2001"/> other geologists exclude these areas.<ref name="Schmincke_2004"/> The rest of Antarctica is excluded because the volcanism there is not related to subduction.<ref name="SCARVolc">{{cite web | url=https://www.scar.org/science/antvolc/home/ | title=Antarctic Volcanism | publisher=Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research, [[Organization:Scott Polar Research Institute|Scott Polar Research Institute]] | access-date=28 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="Francis_1993"/>

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<ref name="USGSRingFireMap">{{cite web | url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/fire.html | title=Ring of Fire Map | publisher=USGS | work=This Dynamic Earth: the Story of Plate Tectonics | date=1999 | access-date=31 December 2020 | author=USGS}}</ref> because the submarine plate boundaries in this part of the Pacific Ocean (the Pacific–Antarctic Ridge, the [[Earth:East Pacific Rise|East Pacific Rise]] and the Chile Ridge) are [[Earth:Divergent boundary|divergent]] 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,<ref name="Schmincke_2004"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tepp |first1=Gabrielle |last2=Shiro |first2=Brian |last3=Chadwick |first3=William W. |title=Volcanic Hazards in the Pacific U.S. Territories |journal=U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2019–3036 |series=Fact Sheet |date=July 2019 |doi=10.3133/fs20193036 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Volcanoes of the World |first1=Lee |last1=Siebert |first2=Tom |last2=Simkin |first3=Paul |last3=Kimberly |edition=3rd |year=2010 |page=108 }}</ref> other geologists exclude them.<ref name="USGSRingFireMap"/>

===Land areas===<!--this section title linked in lede map caption above; if you change this, please change that-->

{{colbegin|colwidth=18em}}
* [[Earth:Antarctica|Antarctica]]
** Antarctic Peninsula
** South Sandwich Islands
* [[Place:Andes|Andes]]
** Austral Volcanic Zone
** South Volcanic Zone
** Central Volcanic Zone
** North Volcanic Zone
* [[Earth:Central America Volcanic Arc|Central America Volcanic Arc]]
** [[Earth:Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt|Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]]
* North American Cordillera
** Cascade Volcanic Arc
** [[Earth:Aleutian Range|Aleutian Range]]
*** [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|Aleutian Islands]]
*** [[Earth:Aleutian Arc|Aleutian Arc]]
* Kamchatka Peninsula
* Kuril Islands
* {{wipe|Japan}}
* Ryukyu Islands
* Taiwan
* [[Earth:Philippine Mobile Belt|Philippine Mobile Belt]]
* [[Earth:Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc|Izu–Bonin–Mariana Arc]]
** Izu Islands
** Bonin Islands
** Mariana Islands
* [[Earth:Sunda Arc|Sunda Arc]]
* Lesser Sunda Islands
* Tanimbar and Kai Islands
* Bismarck Archipelago
* Vanuatu
* Bougainville Island
* Solomon Islands
* Fiji
* Tonga Islands
* Kermadec Islands
* [[Earth:Taupō Volcanic Zone|Taupō Volcanic Zone]]
{{colend}}

Volcanoes in the central parts of the Pacific Basin, for example the Hawaiian Islands, are very far from subduction zones<ref name="Tilling_etal_2010">{{cite book | url=https://geology.com/usgs/hawaiian-hot-spot/ | title=Eruptions of Hawaiian Volcanoes — Past, Present, and Future | publisher=USGS | last1=Tilling | first1=R.I. | last2=Heliker | first2=C. | last3=Swanson | first3=D.A. | year=2010}}</ref> and they are not part of the Ring of Fire.<ref name="NOAA_2018">{{cite web | url=https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/volcanoes.html | title=Do volcanoes occur in the ocean? | publisher=NOAA | date=25 June 2018 | access-date=28 November 2020}}</ref>

==Tectonic plate configurations==

The Ring of Fire has existed for more than 35 million years.<ref name="Pappas2020"/> In some parts of the Ring of Fire, subduction has been occurring for much longer.<ref>{{cite book |title=Volcanoes: Global Perspectives |last1=Lockwood |first1=John P. |last2=Hazlett |first2=Richard W. |year=2010 |publisher=Chichester, John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-6250-0 |page=53 }}</ref>

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).<ref name="Sanzhong_etal_2019">{{cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Sanzhong |last2=Suo |first2=Yanhui |last3=Li |first3=Xiyao |last4=Zhou |first4=Jie |last5=Santosh |first5=M. |last6=Wang |first6=Pengcheng |last7=Wang |first7=Guangzeng |last8=Guo |first8=Lingli |last9=Yu |first9=Shengyao |last10=Lan |first10=Haoyuan |last11=Dai |first11=Liming |last12=Zhou |first12=Zaizhen |last13=Cao |first13=Xianzhi |last14=Zhu |first14=Junjiang |last15=Liu |first15=Bo |last16=Jiang |first16=Suhua |last17=Wang |first17=Gang |last18=Zhang |first18=Guowei |title=Mesozoic tectono-magmatic response in the East Asian ocean-continent connection zone to subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate |journal=Earth-Science Reviews |date=May 2019 |volume=192 |pages=91–137 |doi=10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.03.003 |bibcode=2019ESRv..192...91L |s2cid=134370032 }}</ref><ref name="Pappas2020"/>

===Past plate configurations ===

[[File:Pacific Ocean 180Ma.jpg|thumb|The tectonic plates of the Pacific Ocean in the Early Jurassic (180 Ma)]]
Along the coast of east Asia, during the [[Earth:Late Triassic|Late Triassic]] about 210 million years ago, subduction of the [[Earth:Izanagi Plate|Izanagi Plate]] (the Paleo-Pacific Plate) was occurring,<ref name="Sanzhong_etal_2019"/> and this continued in the [[Earth:Jurassic|Jurassic]], producing volcanic belts, for example, in what is now eastern China.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cao |first1=Mingxuan |last2=Zhao |first2=Xilin |last3=Xing |first3=Guangfu |last4=Fan |first4=Feipeng |last5=Yu |first5=Minggang |last6=Duan |first6=Zheng |last7=Chu |first7=Pingli |last8=Chen |first8=Rong |title=Tectonic transition from subduction to retreat of the palaeo-Pacific plate: new geochemical constraints from the late Mesozoic volcanic sequence in eastern Fujian Province, SE China |journal=Geological Magazine |date=24 November 2020 |volume=158 |issue=6 |pages=1074–1108 |doi=10.1017/S0016756820001156 |s2cid=229477784 }}</ref>

The [[Earth:Pacific Plate|Pacific Plate]] came into existence in the Early Jurassic about 190 million years ago,<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Nakanishi |first1=M. |last2=Ishihara |first2=T. |title=Tectonic Evolution of the Jurassic Pacific Plate |conference=2015 AGU Fall Meeting |date=15 December 2015 |bibcode=2015AGUFM.V21A3017N |url=https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm15/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/77208 }}</ref> 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 [[Earth:Jurassic|Jurassic]] Period more than 145 million years ago, and remnants of Jurassic and [[Earth:Cretaceous|Cretaceous]] volcanic arcs are preserved there.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schellart |first1=W. P. |title=Andean mountain building and magmatic arc migration driven by subduction-induced whole mantle flow |journal=Nature Communications |date=8 December 2017 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=2010 |doi=10.1038/s41467-017-01847-z |pmid=29222524 |pmc=5722900 |bibcode=2017NatCo...8.2010S }}</ref>

At about 120 to 115 million years ago, the [[Earth:Farallon Plate|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 [[Earth:Kula Plate|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.<ref name="Sanzhong_etal_2019"/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Domeier |first1=Mathew |last2=Shephard |first2=Grace E. |last3=Jakob |first3=Johannes |last4=Gaina |first4=Carmen |last5=Doubrovine |first5=Pavel V. |last6=Torsvik |first6=Trond H. |title=Intraoceanic subduction spanned the Pacific in the Late Cretaceous–Paleocene |journal=Science Advances |date=1 November 2017 |volume=3 |issue=11 |pages=eaao2303 |doi=10.1126/sciadv.aao2303 |pmid=29134200 |pmc=5677347 |bibcode=2017SciA....3O2303D |s2cid=10245801 }}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Liu |first1=Shaochen |title=Water content and geochemistry of the Cenozoic basalts in SE China : implications for enrichment in the mantle source of intra-plate basalts |date=22 March 2017 |url=https://tel.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-01835797/ }}</ref>

=== Present-day plate configuration === 
[[File:Plates tect2 en.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|Present-day principal tectonic plates of the Earth]]

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.<ref name="Bird2003">{{cite journal | title=An updated digital model of plate boundaries | last=Bird | first=P. | journal=Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems | year=2003 | volume=4 | issue=3 | page=1027 | doi=10.1029/2001GC000252| bibcode=2003GGG.....4.1027B | doi-access=free }}</ref>

In South America, the Ring of Fire is the result of the [[Earth:Antarctic Plate|Antarctic Plate]], the [[Earth:Nazca Plate|Nazca Plate]] and the [[Earth:Cocos Plate|Cocos Plate]] being [[Earth:Subduction|subducted]] beneath the [[Earth:South American Plate|South American Plate]]. In Central America, the Cocos Plate is being subducted beneath the [[Earth:Caribbean Plate|Caribbean Plate]]. A portion of the [[Earth:Pacific Plate|Pacific Plate]] and the small [[Earth:Juan de Fuca Plate|Juan de Fuca Plate]] are being subducted beneath the [[Earth:North American Plate|North American Plate]]. Along the northern portion, the northwestward-moving Pacific Plate is being subducted beneath the [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|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 {{wipe|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.<ref name="Bird2003"/>

==Subduction zones and oceanic trenches==
[[File:Subduction zone - 2ategories.png|thumb|Chilean-type and Mariana-type subduction zones]]
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.<ref name="SternBloomer2020"/>

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 [[Earth:Mid-ocean ridge|mid-ocean ridge]]s, which are the source of its the 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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Stern |first1=Robert J. |title=Subduction zones |journal=Reviews of Geophysics |date=2002 |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=1012 |doi=10.1029/2001RG000108 |bibcode=2002RvGeo..40.1012S |s2cid=247695067 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="SternBloomer2020"/>

===Oceanic trenches===
[[File:Kuril-Kamchatka Trench USGS.png|thumb|Map of earthquake [[Epicenter|epicenter]]s at the Kuril–Kamchatka trench and subduction zone]]
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:

*[[Earth:Peru–Chile Trench|Peru–Chile Trench]]
*[[Earth:Middle America Trench|Middle America Trench]]
*[[Earth:Aleutian Trench|Aleutian Trench]]
*[[Earth:Kuril–Kamchatka Trench|Kuril–Kamchatka Trench]]
*[[Earth:Japan Trench|Japan Trench]]
*Ryukyu Trench
*Izu–Bonin Trench
*Mariana Trench
*[[Earth:Yap Trench|Yap Trench]]
*Philippine Trench
*[[Earth:Tonga Trench|Tonga Trench]]
*[[Earth:Kermadec Trench|Kermadec Trench]]
*[[Earth:Hikurangi 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 flat slab subduction; examples are the three gaps between the four sections of the [[Earth:Andean Volcanic Belt|Andean Volcanic Belt]] in South America.<ref name="Gutscher_etal_2000">{{cite journal |last1=Gutscher |first1=Marc-André |last2=Spakman |first2=Wim |last3=Bijwaard |first3=Harmen |last4=Engdahl |first4=E. Robert |title=Geodynamics of flat subduction: Seismicity and tomographic constraints from the Andean margin |journal=Tectonics |date=October 2000 |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=814–833 |doi=10.1029/1999TC001152 |bibcode=2000Tecto..19..814G |doi-access=free }}</ref> In North America, there is a gap in subduction-related volcanic activity in northern Mexico and southern California, due partly to a divergent boundary in the Gulf of California and due partly to the San Andreas Fault (a non-volcanic transform boundary). Another North American gap in subduction-related volcanic activity occurs in northern British Columbia, Yukon and south-east Alaska, where volcanism is caused by intraplate continental [[Earth:Rift|rift]]ing.<ref name=Lopes2005Chap2>{{cite book |last1=Lopes |first1=Rosaly |chapter=Volcanoes of the World |doi=10.1017/CBO9780511535567.002 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eRqrEwvIvKoC&pg=PA3 |title=The Volcano Adventure Guide |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-55453-4 |pages=3–17 }}</ref>

==Distribution of volcanoes==

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="margin:left"
|+'''Distribution  of Ring of Fire volcanoes active in the Holocene Epoch (last 11,700 years)'''<ref name="GVPDatabase2020"/><ref name="GVPDatabaseAug2021">{{cite journal |url=https://volcano.si.edu/gvp_votw.cfm |doi=10.5479/si.GVP.VOTW4-2013 |title=Volcanoes of the World, v. 4.10.2 |year=2013 |editor1-last=Venzke |editor1-first=E |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |journal=[[Earth:Global Volcanism Program|Global Volcanism Program]]|access-date=4 December 2021}}</ref>
!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 ([[Earth:Hotspot (geology)|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
|
|Sumatra (27 volcanoes), Krakatoa, Java (36 volcanoes), [[Place:Bali|Bali]] (3 volcanoes), Lombok, Sumbawa and Sangeang (i.e. the [[Earth:Sunda Arc|Sunda Arc]],<ref name="Möller_etal_2008">{{cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=Christian |last2=Barckhausen |first2=Udo |last3=Ehrhardt |first3=Axel |last4=Engels |first4=Martin |last5=Gaedicke |first5=Christoph |last6=Keppler |first6=Hans |last7=Lutz |first7=Rüdiger |last8=Lüschen |first8=Ewald |last9=Neben |first9=Sönke |last10=Kopp |first10=Heidrun |last11=Flueh |first11=Ernst R. |last12=Djajadihardja |first12=Yusuf S. |last13=Soemantri |first13=Dzulkarnaen D. P. |last14=Seeber |first14=Leonardo |title=From Subduction to Collision: The Sunda-Banda Arc Transition |journal=Eos, Transactions American Geophysical Union |date=2008 |volume=89 |issue=6 |pages=49 |doi=10.1029/2008EO060001 |bibcode=2008EOSTr..89...49M |doi-access=free }}</ref> north of the Sunda subduction zone between the [[Earth:Australian Plate|Australian Plate]] and the [[Earth:Sunda Plate|Sunda Plate]])
|No
|-
|Asia
|Indonesia
|eastern islands
|54
|
|Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda Islands (excluding [[Place:Bali|Bali]], Lombok, Sumbawa and Sangeang), Halmahera, Banda Islands, Sangihe Islands
|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
|[[Earth:Mantle plume|mantle plume]] and subduction<ref name="Strak2018">{{cite journal |last1=Strak |first1=Vincent |last2=Schellart |first2=Wouter P. |title=A subduction and mantle plume origin for Samoan volcanism |journal=Scientific Reports |date=December 2018 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=10424 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-28267-3 |pmid=29992964 |pmc=6041271 |bibcode=2018NatSR...810424S }}</ref>
|No
|-
|
|Samoa
|
|2
|0
|mantle plume and subduction<ref name="Strak2018"/>
|No
|-
|
|United States
|American Samoa
|4
|0
|mantle plume and subduction;<ref name="Strak2018"/><ref name="USGSAmSam">{{cite journal | url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2019/3036/fs20193036.pdf | title=Volcanic Hazards in the Pacific U.S. Territories | publisher=USGS | journal=Fact Sheet 2019–3036 | date=July 2019 | access-date=31 December 2020 | first1=Gabrielle | last1=Tepp | first2=Brian | last2=Shiro | first3=William | last3=Chadwick | series=Fact Sheet | issn=2327-6932 | doi=10.3133/fs20193036| s2cid=200055851 }}</ref> including 1 submarine seamount
|No
|-
|
|Tonga
|
|17
|3 rift
|including 13 submarine volcanoes, 3 of which are subduction-related back-arc rift volcanoes<ref name="NOAA_Tonga">{{cite web | url=https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/eoi/PlumeStudies/global-vents/global-vents-text.html | title=Global compilation of confirmed and inferred vent sites | publisher=NOAA | work=[[Organization:Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory|PMEL]] Earth-Ocean Interactions Program | access-date=31 December 2020}}</ref>
|Yes
|-
|
|between Tonga and Kermadec Islands
|
|1
|0
|Monowai submarine seamount (between the [[Earth:Exclusive economic zone|exclusive economic zone]]s of Tonga and New Zealand<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Volcanoes/New-Zealand-Volcanoes/Volcano-Geology-and-Hazards/Kermadec-Islands-Geology|title=Kermadec Islands Geology|publisher=[[Earth:GNS Science|GNS Science]]|access-date=2020-12-31|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109121515/https://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Volcanoes/New-Zealand-Volcanoes/Volcano-Geology-and-Hazards/Kermadec-Islands-Geology|archive-date=2020-11-09}}</ref>)
|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
|-class="sortbottom"
|'''Total'''
|
|
|'''913'''
|59
|
|
|-
|}

==Very large events==

===Volcanic eruptions===
The four largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the [[Earth:Holocene|Holocene Epoch]] (the last 11,700 years) occurred at volcanoes in the Ring of Fire. They are the eruptions at Fisher Caldera (Alaska, 8700 [[Religion:Anno Domini|BC]]), Kuril Lake (Kamchatka, 6450 BC), [[Earth:Kikai Caldera|Kikai Caldera]] (Japan, 5480 BC) and [[Earth:Mount Mazama|Mount Mazama]] (Oregon, 5677 BC).<ref name=":4"/> More broadly, twenty{{refn|group=note|name=Western_Indonesia_Large_Eruptions|Twenty-two if the western islands of Indonesia are included.}} of the twenty-five largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in this time interval occurred at Ring of Fire volcanoes.<ref name=":4"/>

===Earthquakes===
About 90%<ref name=":0" /> of the world's earthquakes and most of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire.{{refn|group=note|name=EarthquakePercent|if Antarctica and the western islands of Indonesia are excluded<ref name=":1" />}} 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.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />

From 1900 to the end of 2020, most earthquakes of magnitude {{m|w|link=y}} ≥ 8.0 occurred in the Ring of Fire.<ref name="Bilek_and_Lay_2018">{{cite journal |last1=Bilek |first1=Susan L. |last2=Lay |first2=Thorne |title=Subduction zone megathrust earthquakes |journal=Geosphere |date=1 August 2018 |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=1468–1500 |doi=10.1130/GES01608.1 |bibcode=2018Geosp..14.1468B |doi-access=free }}</ref>{{refn|group=note|name=Mag8quakes|79 of 95 earthquakes (if the western islands of Indonesia are excluded).<ref name="Mag8QuakesSearch">{{cite web | url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=-61.43877,881.71875&extent=79.17133,1249.45313&range=search&timeZone=utc&search=%7B%22name%22:%22Search%20Results%22,%22params%22:%7B%22starttime%22:%221900-01-01%2000:00:00%22,%22endtime%22:%222020-12-31%2023:59:59%22,%22minmagnitude%22:8,%22eventtype%22:%22earthquake%22,%22orderby%22:%22time%22%7D%7D | title=Earthquakes of magnitude ≥ 8.0 from 1 January 1900 to 31 December 2020 | publisher=USGS | work=Earthquake Hazards Program | access-date=21 October 2022}}</ref>}} They are presumed to have been [[Earth:Megathrust earthquake|megathrust earthquake]]s at subduction zones,<ref name="Bilek_and_Lay_2018"/> including four of the most powerful earthquakes on Earth since modern seismological measuring equipment and magnitude measurement scales were introduced in the 1930s:
*1960 Valdivia earthquake, Chile (magnitude {{m|w}} 9.4–9.6)
*1964 Alaska earthquake, Alaska, United States (magnitude {{m|w}} 9.2)
*2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan (magnitude {{m|w}} 9.0–9.1)
*1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake, Kamchatka, Russia (magnitude {{m|w}} 9.0)

==Antarctica==
[[File:Antarctica 2013 Journey to the Crystal Desert (8370600188).jpg|thumb|Layers of phreatomagmatic tephra on Deception Island]]

Some geologists include the volcanoes of the South Shetland Islands, off the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, as part of the Ring of Fire. These volcanoes, e.g. [[Earth:Deception Island|Deception Island]], are due to rifting in the Bransfield back-arc basin close to the South Shetland subduction zone.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Geyer |first1=A. |last2=Álvarez-Valero |first2=A. M. |last3=Gisbert |first3=G. |last4=Aulinas |first4=M. |last5=Hernández-Barreña |first5=D. |last6=Lobo |first6=A. |last7=Marti |first7=J. |title=Deciphering the evolution of Deception Island's magmatic system |journal=Scientific Reports |date=23 January 2019 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=373 |doi=10.1038/s41598-018-36188-4 |pmid=30674998 |pmc=6344569 |bibcode=2019NatSR...9..373G }}</ref> The Antarctic Peninsula (Graham Land) is also sometimes included in the Ring.<ref name="PClarkson2000">{{cite book | title=Volcanoes | publisher=Colin Baxter Photography Ltd | last=Clarkson | first=Peter | date=2000 | page=19 | isbn=1-84107-063-7}}</ref> Volcanoes south of the Antarctic Circle (e.g. the volcanoes of Victoria Land including [[Earth:Mount Erebus|Mount Erebus]], and the volcanoes of Mary Byrd Land) are not related to subduction; therefore, they are not part of the Ring of Fire.<ref name="Francis_1993"/>

The [[Earth:Balleny Islands|Balleny Islands]], located between Antarctica and New Zealand, are volcanic but their volcanism is not related to subduction;<ref>{{cite web | title=Age and Origin of HIMU Volcanism in The Balleny Islands: Melting of Plume-Delivered Deep Mantle or Shallow Asthenospheric Mantle? | work=Seventh Annual V. M. Goldschmidt Conference | url=https://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/gold/pdf/2362.pdf | access-date=12 November 2020 |author=J.H. Berg |author2=D. Weis |author3=W.C. McIntosh |author4=B.I. Cameron}}</ref> therefore, they are not part of the Ring of Fire.

==South America==

The world's highest active volcano is [[Earth:Ojos del Salado|Ojos del Salado]] ({{convert|6893|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}), 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 [[Religion:Anno Domini|AD]] 750.<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Nevados Ojos del Salado|vn=355130|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref> Another Ring of Fire Andean volcano on the Argentina-Chile border is [[Earth:Llullaillaco|Llullaillaco]] ({{convert|6739|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}), which is the world's highest historically active volcano, last erupting in 1877.<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Llullaillaco|vn=355110|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref>

=== Chile ===
[[File:Llaima eruption2 crop.jpg|thumb|left|[[Earth:Llaima|Llaima]]'s 2008 eruption]]

Chile has experienced numerous volcanic eruptions from about 90 volcanoes during the Holocene Epoch.<ref name="GVPDatabase2020"/>

[[Earth:Villarrica (volcano)|Villarrica]] is one of Chile's most active volcanoes, rising above the lake and town of the same name. It is the westernmost of three large stratovolcanoes that trend perpendicular to the Andes along the Gastre Fault.  Villarrica, along with [[Earth:Quetrupillán|Quetrupillán]] and the Chilean part of Lanín, are protected within Villarrica National Park.

Villarrica, with its lava of basaltic-andesitic composition, is one of only five volcanoes worldwide known to have an active [[Earth:Lava lake|lava lake]] within its crater. The volcano usually generates [[Earth:Strombolian eruption|strombolian eruption]]s, with ejection of incandescent pyroclasts and lava flows. Melting of snow and [[Earth:Glacier|glacier ice]], as well as rainfall, often causes [[Earth:Lahar|lahar]]s, such as during the eruptions of 1964 and 1971.<ref>[http://www.povi.cl/files/h_1971.pdf La erupción de 1971], Villarrica Volcano Visual Observation Project. 2008.</ref>

A {{convert|2|km|mi|frac=4|adj=mid|-wide|spell=in}} postglacial caldera is located at the base of the presently active dominantly basaltic-to-andesitic cone at the northwest margin of the [[Earth:Pleistocene|Pleistocene]] caldera. About 25 scoria cones dot Villarica's flanks. [[Earth:Plinian eruption|Plinian eruption]]s and pyroclastic flows have been produced during the [[Earth:Holocene|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 {{cvt|82|km}} northeast of Temuco and {{cvt|663|km}} southeast of Santiago, within the borders of Conguillío National Park. Llaima's activity has been documented since the 17th century, and consists of several separate episodes of moderate explosive eruptions with occasional lava flows.

[[File:Lascar eruption 2006b - cropped.jpg|thumb|Lascar erupting in 2006]]

[[Earth:Lascar (volcano)|Lascar]] is a stratovolcano and the most active volcano of the northern Chilean Andes. The largest eruption of Lascar took place about 26,500&nbsp;years ago, and following the eruption of the Tumbres scoria flow about 9,000&nbsp;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 {{convert|8.5|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} northwest of the summit and ash fall in [[Place:Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]], Argentina, more than {{convert|1600|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} to the southeast. 

Chiliques is a stratovolcano located in the [[Place:Antofagasta Region|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&nbsp;years, but is now showing signs of life. A January 6, 2002, nighttime thermal infrared image from [[Astronomy:Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer|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.<ref name="nasa">{{cite web | url = http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=2377 | title = Chiliques Volcano, Chile | work = Visible Earth | date = 20 April 2002 | publisher = [[Organization:NASA|NASA]] | access-date = March 24, 2007}}</ref>

[[Earth:Calbuco (volcano)|Calbuco]] is a stratovolcano in southern Chile, located southeast of Llanquihue Lake and northwest of Chapo Lake, in [[Place:Los Lagos Region|Los Lagos Region]]. The volcano and the surrounding area are protected within Llanquihue National Reserve. It is a very explosive [[Earth:Andesite|andesite]] volcano that underwent edifice collapse in the late [[Earth:Pleistocene|Pleistocene]], producing a volcanic debris avalanche that reached the lake.  At least nine eruptions occurred since 1837, with the latest one in 1972. One of the largest historical eruptions in southern Chile took place there in 1893–1894. Violent eruptions ejected {{cvt|30|cm|in|adj=on}} bombs to distances of {{cvt|8|km}} from the crater, accompanied by voluminous hot lahars. Strong explosions occurred in April 1917, and a [[Earth:Lava dome|lava dome]] formed in the crater accompanied by hot lahars. Another short explosive eruption in January 1929 also included an apparent pyroclastic flow and a lava flow. The last major eruption of Calbuco, in 1961, sent [[Earth:Eruption column|ash column]]s {{cvt|12|–|15|km}} high and produced [[Physics:Plume (fluid dynamics)|plume]]s that dispersed mainly to the southeast and two lava flows were also emitted. A minor, four-hour eruption happened on August 26, 1972. Strong fumarolic emission from the main crater was observed on August 12, 1996.

[[Earth:Lonquimay (volcano)|Lonquimay]] is a stratovolocano of late-Pleistocene to dominantly Holocene age, with the shape of a truncated cone. The cone is largely andesitic, though [[Earth:Basalt|basalt]]ic and [[Earth:Dacite|dacitic]] rocks are present. It is located in La Araucanía Region of {{wipe|Chile}}, immediately southeast of Tolhuaca volcano. Sierra Nevada and Llaima are their neighbors to the south. The snow-capped volcano lies within the protected area Malalcahuello-Nalcas.  The volcano last erupted in 1988, ending in 1990. The [[Earth:Volcanic Explosivity Index|VEI]] was 3. The eruption was from a flank vent and involved lava flows and explosive eruptions. Some fatalities occurred.<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Lonquimay|vn=357100|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref>

The volcanoes in Chile are monitored by the National Geology and Mining Service (SERNAGEOMIN)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sernageomin.cl/volcanes.php|title=Red de vigilancia volcánica – Sernageomin|work=sernageomin.cl|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128190103/http://www.sernageomin.cl/volcanes.php|archive-date=November 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vdap/activities/responses/chaiten.php|title=VDAP Responses at Chaitén in Chile|author=USGS|work=usgs.gov|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210052939/http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vdap/activities/responses/chaiten.php|archive-date=December 10, 2014}}</ref>

Earthquake activity in Chile is related to subduction of the Nazca Plate to the east. Chile notably holds the record for the largest earthquake ever recorded, the 1960 Valdivia earthquake. More recently, a magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck central Chile on February 27, 2010, the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle volcano erupted in 2011, and a M8.2 earthquake struck northern Chile on April 1, 2014.  The main shock was preceded by a number of moderate to large shocks and was followed by a large number of moderate to very large aftershocks, including a magnitude-7.6 event on April 2.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010tfan.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410032038/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2010tfan.php|archive-date=April 10, 2010|title=Magnitude 8.8 – OFFSHORE MAULE, CHILE|date=February 27, 2010|access-date=February 28, 2010}}</ref>

===Argentina===

=== Bolivia ===

Bolivia hosts active and extinct volcanoes across its territory. The active volcanoes are located in western Bolivia where they make up the Cordillera Occidental, the western limit of the Altiplano plateau. Some of the active volcanoes are international mountains shared with {{wipe|Chile}}. All [[Earth:Cenozoic|Cenozoic]] volcanoes of Bolivia are part of the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) of the [[Earth:Andean Volcanic Belt|Andean Volcanic Belt]] that results due to processes involved in the [[Earth:Subduction|subduction]] of the [[Earth:Nazca Plate|Nazca Plate]] under the [[Earth:South American Plate|South American Plate]]. The Central Volcanic Zone is a major late [[Earth:Cenozoic|Cenozoic]] volcanic province.<ref name="sciencedirect.com">{{cite journal|last1=Baker|first1=M.C.W.|last2=Francis|first2=P.W.|year=1978|title=Upper Cenozoic Volcanism in the Central Andes – Ages and Volumes|doi=10.1016/0012-821X(78)90008-0|bibcode=1978E&PSL..41..175B|volume=41|issue=2|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|pages=175–187}}</ref>

=== Peru ===

[[Earth:Sabancaya|Sabancaya]] is an active {{convert|5976|m|ft|adj=on}} stratovolcano in the Andes of southern Peru, about {{convert|100|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} northwest of [[Place:Arequipa|Arequipa]]. It is the most active volcano in Peru, with an ongoing eruption that started in 2016.

[[Earth:Ubinas|Ubinas]] is another active volcano of {{convert|5672|m|adj=on}} in southern Peru; its most recent eruption occurred in 2019.<ref name="volcano.si.edu">{{cite gvp|name=Ubinas|vn=354020|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref>

Volcanoes in Peru are monitored by the Peruvian Geophysical Institute.<ref name="igp.gob.pe">{{Cite web|url=https://portal.igp.gob.pe/|title=Portal &#124; Instituto Geofísico del Perú|website=portal.igp.gob.pe}}</ref>

=== Ecuador ===
[[File:19991102 Tung large.jpg|thumb|Tungurahua erupting molten lava at night (1999)]]

[[Earth:Cotopaxi|Cotopaxi]] is a stratovolcano in the Andes, located about {{convert|50|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} south of [[Place:Quito|Quito]], Ecuador, South America.<ref name="Distance from Quito to Cotopaxi">{{cite web|url=http://distancecalculator.globefeed.com/Ecuador_Distance_Result.asp?fromplace=Quito%20(Pichincha)&toplace=Cotopaxi%20()&fromlat=-0.2166667&tolat=-0.6666667&fromlng=-78.5&tolng=-78.4333333|title=Distance from Quito to Cotopaxi|publisher=distancecalculator.globefeed.com}}</ref> It is the second-highest summit in the country, reaching a height of {{convert|5897|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. 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 [[Earth:Volcanic ash|ash]]. Prior to that, the last major eruptions were in 1553<ref name="Weather, Kington 2010">Climate and Weather, Kington, J. Collins London, (2010){{page needed|date=January 2021}}</ref> and in 1660, when about 30&nbsp;cm of ash fell on the city.<ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |title=Ecuadoreans Wait Uneasily On Volcanoes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/28/world/ecuadoreans-wait-uneasily-on-volcanoes.html |work=The New York Times |agency=The Associated Press |date=28 November 1999}}</ref>

At {{convert|5286|m|ft|abbr=on}}, [[Earth:Sangay|Sangay]] Volcano is an active stratovolcano in central Ecuador, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world and is one of Ecuador's most active volcanoes. It exhibits mostly [[Earth:Strombolian eruption|strombolian]] activity; An eruption, which started in 1934, ended in 2011.<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Sangay|vn=352090|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref> More recent eruptions have occurred. Geologically, Sangay marks the southern bound of the Northern Volcanic Zone, and its position straddling two major pieces of [[Earth:Crust (geology)|crust]] accounts for its high level of activity. Sangay's roughly 500,000-year history is one of instability; two previous versions of the mountain were destroyed in massive flank collapses, evidence of which still litters its surroundings today. Sangay is one of two active volcanoes located within the namesake Sangay National Park, the other being [[Earth:Tungurahua|Tungurahua]] to the north. As such, it has been listed as a [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]] World Heritage Site since 1983.

[[Earth:Reventador|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|lc=y}}, still ongoing,<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Reventador|vn=352010|access-date=2021-07-15}}</ref> but the largest historical eruption occurred in 2002. During that eruption, the plume from the volcano reached a height of {{convert|17|km|mi|frac=2|abbr=on}}, and pyroclastic flows reached {{convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}} from the cone.  On March 30, 2007, the volcano erupted ash again, which reached a height of about {{convert|2|mi|km|0|abbr=on|order=flip}}.

In Ecuador, EPN monitors volcanic activity.

===Colombia===

== North America ==
=== Central America ===
[[File:Poas crater.jpg|thumb|Crater of Poás volcano in Costa Rica, 2004]]
[[File:Volcan-Santiaguito-Quetzaltenango-Guatemala.jpg|thumb|Santiaguito Volcano, 2003 eruption in Guatemala]]

==== Panama ====

==== Costa Rica ====

[[Earth:Poás Volcano|Poás Volcano]] is an active {{convert|2708|m|adj=on}} 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 [[Organization:National University of Costa Rica|National University of Costa Rica]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ovsicori.una.ac.cr/|publisher=National University of Costa Rica|title=Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa Rica (OVSICORI)}}</ref> has a dedicated team in charge of researching and monitoring the volcanoes, earthquakes, and other tectonic processes in the [[Earth:Central America Volcanic Arc|Central America Volcanic Arc]].

==== Nicaragua ====

==== Honduras ====

==== El Salvador ====

==== Guatemala ====

In 1902, the Santa Maria Volcano erupted violently in Guatemala, with the largest explosions occurring over two days, ejecting an estimated {{convert|5.5|km3|cumi|frac=8|abbr=on}} of magma. The eruption was one of the largest of the 20th century, only slightly less in magnitude to that of Mount Pinatubo in 1991. The eruption had a [[Earth:Volcanic explosivity index|volcanic explosivity index]] of 6. Today, Santiaguito is one of the world's most active volcanoes.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}}

=== North American Cordillera ===
==== Mexico ====

[[File:Map mexico volcanoes.gif|thumb|The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]]

Volcanoes of Mexico related to subduction of the [[Earth:Cocos Plate|Cocos]] and [[Earth:Rivera Plate|Rivera]] plates occur in the [[Earth:Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt|Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt]], which extends {{convert|900|km|mi|abbr=on}} from west to east across central-southern Mexico. [[Earth:Popocatépetl|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 [[Earth:El Chichón|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.<ref name="AA">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050309061128/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Mexico/description_mexico_volcanoes.html|title=Mexico Volcanoes and Volcanics|publisher=USGS|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/Mexico/description_mexico_volcanoes.html|archive-date=March 9, 2005|access-date=October 14, 2007}}</ref>

==== United States ====
[[File:Cascadia subduction zone USGS.png|thumb|left|Area of the Cascadia subduction zone, including the Cascade Volcanic Arc (red triangles)]]

The [[Earth:Cascade Volcanoes|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 [[Earth:Tuya|tuya]]s. 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 [[Earth:Gorda Plate|Gorda]] and [[Earth:Juan de Fuca Plate|Juan de Fuca]] plates at the Cascadia subduction zone. This is a {{convert|680|mi|km|adj=mid|-long|order=flip}} [[Earth:Fault (geology)|fault]], running {{convert|50|mi|km|abbr=on|order=flip}} off the coast of the [[Place:Pacific Northwest|Pacific Northwest]] from northern California to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The plates move at a relative rate of over {{convert|0.4|in|mm|abbr=on|order=flip}} 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 {{convert|60|km|mi|abbr=on}} down-dip from the deformation front. Further down-dip, a transition from fully locked to [[Earth:Aseismic creep|aseismic sliding]] occurs.

[[File:Cascade eruptions in the last 4000 years.png|thumb|American Cascade Range volcano eruptions in the last 4000 years]]

Unlike most subduction zones worldwide, no [[Earth:Oceanic trench|oceanic trench]] is present along the [[Earth:Continental margin|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 [[Engineering:Spring (device)|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 [[Earth:1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens|1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens]] was the most significant to occur in the contiguous 48 U.S. states in recorded history ([[Earth:Volcanic Explosivity Index|VEI]] = 5, {{convert|0.3|cumi|km3|abbr=on|order=flip}} of material erupted), exceeding the destructive power and volume of material released by the 1915 eruption of California's [[Earth:Lassen Peak|Lassen Peak]]. The eruption was preceded by a two-month series of earthquakes and steam-venting episodes caused by an injection of [[Biology:Magma|magma]] at shallow depth below the mountain that created a huge bulge and a fracture system on [[Earth:Mount St. Helens|Mount St. Helens]]' north slope. An earthquake at 8:32&nbsp;am on May 18, 1980, caused the entire weakened north face to slide away, suddenly exposing the partly molten, gas-rich rock in the volcano to lower pressure. The rock responded by exploding into a very hot mix of pulverized lava and older rock that sped toward Spirit Lake so fast that it quickly passed the avalanching north face.

[[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]] is known for its seismic and volcanic activity, holding the record for the second-largest earthquake in the world, the Good Friday earthquake, and having more than 50 volcanoes which have erupted since about 1760.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.avo.alaska.edu/volcanoes/about.php |title=Alaska Volcano Observatory – About Alaska's Volcanoes |publisher=Avo.alaska.edu |access-date=November 1, 2010}}</ref> Volcanoes are found not only in the mainland, but also in the [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|Aleutian Islands]].

The United States Geological Survey and the National Earthquake Information Center monitor volcanoes and earthquakes in the United States.

==== Canada ====
[[File:Young volcanoes of western Canada.png|thumb|Map of young volcanoes in Western Canada]]

British Columbia and [[Earth:Yukon|Yukon]] are home to a region of volcanoes and volcanic activity in the Pacific Ring of Fire. More than 20 volcanoes have erupted in the western Canada during the Holocene Epoch but only 6 are directly related to subduction: [[Earth:Bridge River Cones|Bridge River Cones]], Mount Cayley, [[Earth:Mount Garibaldi|Mount Garibaldi]], Garibaldi Lake, [[Earth:Silverthrone Caldera|Silverthrone Caldera]], and [[Earth:Mount Meager massif|Mount Meager massif]].<ref name="GVPDatabase2020"/> Several mountains in populated areas of British Columbia are dormant volcanoes. Most of these were active during the Pleistocene and Holocene epochs. Although none of Canada's volcanoes are currently erupting, several volcanoes, volcanic fields, and volcanic centers are considered potentially active.<ref name="Stasiuk_etal_2003">{{cite journal |last1=Stasiuk |first1=Mark V. |last2=Hickson |first2=Catherine J. |last3=Mulder |first3=Taimi |title=The Vulnerability of Canada to Volcanic Hazards |journal=Natural Hazards |date=2003 |volume=28 |issue=2/3 |pages=563–589 |id={{INIST|14897949}} |doi=10.1023/A:1022954829974 |s2cid=129461798 }}</ref> There are [[Earth:Hot spring|hot spring]]s at some volcanoes. Since 1975, seismic activity appears to have been associated with some volcanoes in British Columbia including the six subduction-related volcanoes as well as intraplate volcanoes such as [[Earth:Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field|Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field]].<ref name="Stasiuk_etal_2003"/> The volcanoes are grouped into five volcanic belts with different tectonic settings.

The [[Earth:Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province|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 [[Earth:Cascade Volcanoes|Cascade Volcanic Arc]] further south and Alaska's [[Earth:Aleutian Arc|Aleutian Arc]] further north.<ref name="WoodsKienle_2001">{{cite book| last1=Wood | first1=C.A. | last2=Kienle | first2=J. | pages=109–129| title=Volcanoes of North America: United States and Canada | date=2001 | publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}| isbn=978-0-521-43811-7}}</ref>

The [[Earth:Garibaldi Volcanic Belt|Garibaldi Volcanic Belt]] in southwestern British Columbia is the northern extension of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in the United States (which includes [[Earth:Mount Baker|Mount Baker]] and Mount St. Helens) and contains the most explosive young volcanoes in Canada.<ref name="SW">{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219225022/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/belt_garibaldi_e.php|work=Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes|title=Garibaldi Volcanic Belt|url=http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/belt_garibaldi_e.php|archive-date=February 19, 2006|access-date=July 31, 2007}}</ref> It formed as a result of subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate (a remnant of the much larger [[Earth:Farallon Plate|Farallon Plate]]) under the North American Plate along the Cascadia subduction zone.<ref name="SW" /> The Garibaldi Volcanic Belt includes the Bridge River Cones, Mount Cayley, [[Earth:Mount Fee|Mount Fee]], Mount Garibaldi, [[Earth:Mount Price (British Columbia)|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 [[Earth:Rhyolite|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,<ref name="SW" /> sending an [[Earth:Eruption column|ash column]] about 20&nbsp;km into the [[Earth:Stratosphere|stratosphere]].<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060219230054/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/volcano_e.php?id=gvb_mme_034|work=Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes|title=Mount Meager|url=http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/volcano_e.php?id=gvb_mme_034|archive-date=February 19, 2006|access-date=July 31, 2007}}</ref>

[[File:MountMeagerPlinthCapricorn.jpg|thumb|The Mount Meager massif as seen from the east near Pemberton, British Columbia: Summits left to right are Capricorn Mountain, Mount Meager, and Plinth Peak.]]

The [[Earth:Chilcotin Group|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&nbsp;million years ago (Miocene) or 2–3&nbsp;million years ago (Pliocene), although with some slightly more recent eruptions (in the Pleistocene).<ref name="DA">{{cite web|url=http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/belt_chilcotin_e.php|work=Catalogue of Canadian volcanoes|title=Chilcotin Plateau basalts|access-date=July 31, 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315201506/http://gsc.nrcan.gc.ca/volcanoes/cat/belt_chilcotin_e.php|archive-date=March 15, 2008}}</ref> It is thought to have formed as a result of [[Earth:Back-arc basin|back-arc extension]] behind the Cascadia subduction zone.<ref name="DA" /> Volcanoes in this belt include [[Earth:Mount Noel|Mount Noel]], the [[Earth:Clisbako Caldera Complex|Clisbako Caldera Complex]], Lightning Peak, [[Earth:Black Dome Mountain|Black Dome Mountain]], and many lava flows.

Eruptions of basaltic to rhyolitic volcanoes and hypabyssal rocks of the [[Earth:Alert Bay Volcanic Belt|Alert Bay Volcanic Belt]] in northern Vancouver Island are probably linked with the subducted margin flanked by the [[Earth:Explorer Plate|Explorer]] and Juan de Fuca Plates at the Cascadia subduction zone. It appears to have been active during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. However, no Holocene eruptions are known, and volcanic activity in the belt has likely ceased.

The active Queen Charlotte Fault on the west coast of the Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, has generated three large earthquakes during the 20th century: a [[Richter magnitude scale|magnitude]] 7 event in 1929; a magnitude 8.1 in 1949 (Canada's largest recorded earthquake); and a magnitude 7.4 in 1970.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.litho.ucalgary.ca/publications/newsletter10.1/bird.html|title=Earthquakes in the Queen Charlotte Islands Region 1984–1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418071705/http://www.litho.ucalgary.ca/publications/newsletter10.1/bird.html|archive-date=April 18, 2006|url-status=bot: unknown|access-date=October 3, 2007}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/earth-sciences/resources/federal-programs/public-safety-geoscience/10911|title=Public Safety Geoscience Program|publisher=Natural Resources Canada|date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>

== Asia ==
=== Russia ===
[[File:Dsc (179253513).jpeg|thumb|Kambalny, an active volcano in the Kamchatka Peninsula]]

The Kamchatka Peninsula in the [[Place:Russian Far East|Russian Far East]] is one of the most active volcanic areas in the world, with 20 historically active volcanoes.<ref name="KVERT">{{cite web | url=http://kcs.dvo.ru/ivs/kvert/volcano | title=Active Volcanoes of Kamchatka and Kuriles | publisher=Kamchatka Volcanic Eruption Response Team | access-date=12 December 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Okhotsk Sea to the west. Immediately offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the {{convert|10500|m|ft|adj=mid|-deep}} Kuril–Kamchatka Trench, where subduction of the Pacific Plate fuels the volcanism. Several types of volcanic activity are present, including stratovolcanoes, shield volcanoes, Hawaiian-style fissure eruptions and geysers.

Active, dormant and extinct volcanoes of Kamchatka are in two major volcanic belts. The most recent activity takes place in the eastern belt, starting in the north at the [[Earth:Shiveluch|Shiveluch]] volcanic complex, which lies at the junction of the [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|Aleutian]] and Kamchatka volcanic arcs. Just to the south is the Klyuchi volcanic group, comprising the twin volcanic cones of Kliuchevskoi and Kamen, the volcanic complexes of [[Earth:Tolbachik|Tolbachik]] and [[Earth:Ushkovsky|Ushkovsky]], and a number of other large stratovolcanoes. Ichinsky, the only active volcano in the central belt, is located farther to the west. Farther south, the eastern belt of stratovolcanoes continues to the southern tip of Kamchatka, continuing onto the Kuril Islands, with their 32 historically active volcanoes.<ref name="KVERT"/>

{{clear}}

=== 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 [[Earth:Philippine Sea Plate|Philippine Sea Plate]]. As many as 1,500 earthquakes are recorded yearly, and magnitudes of 4 to 6 are not uncommon. Minor tremors occur almost daily in one part of the country or another, causing some slight shaking of buildings. Major earthquakes occur infrequently; the most famous in the 20th century were: the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, in which 130,000 people died; and the Great Hanshin earthquake of January 17, 1995, in which 6,434 people died. On March 11, 2011 a magnitude 9.0 earthquake hit Japan, the country's biggest ever and the fifth largest on record, according to US Geological Survey data.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/environment/list-japan-quake-seventh-largest-in-history-20110311-1brew.html |title=LIST: Japan quake seventh largest in history |publisher=Smh.com.au |date= March 11, 2011|access-date=March 19, 2011}}</ref> Undersea earthquakes also expose the Japanese coastline to danger from [[Tsunami|tsunami]]s.

[[File:Fuji_Kawaguchi_357.JPG|thumb|Mount Fuji at sunrise from Lake Kawaguchi]]

Mount Bandai, one of Japan's most noted volcanoes, rises above the north shore of Lake Inawashiro. Mount Bandai is formed of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, the largest of which is O-Bandai, constructed within a horseshoe-shaped [[Earth:Caldera|caldera]] that formed about 40,000 years ago when an earlier volcano collapsed, forming the Okinajima debris avalanche, which traveled to the southwest and was accompanied by a [[Earth:Plinian eruption|plinian eruption]]. Four major [[Earth:Phreatic eruption|phreatic eruption]]s have occurred during the past 5,000 years, two of them in historical time, in 806 and 1888. Seen from the south, Bandai presents a conical profile, but much of the north side of the volcano is missing as a result of the collapse of Ko-Bandai volcano during the 1888 eruption, in which a debris avalanche buried several villages and formed several large lakes. In July 1888, the north flank of Mount Bandai collapsed during an eruption quite similar to the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens. After a week of seismic activity, a large earthquake on July 15, 1888, was followed by a tremendous noise and a large explosion. Eyewitnesses heard about 15 to 20 additional explosions and observed that the last one was projected almost horizontally to the north.

[[Earth:Mount Fuji|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 [[Earth:Tertiary|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 [[Earth:Pumice|pumice]] and formed a large new crater on the east flank. Some minor volcanic activity may occur in the next few years.

=== Taiwan ===

=== Philippines ===
[[File:MajorVolcanoesOfThePhilippines-USGS.gif|thumb|upright|Map showing major volcanoes of the {{wipe|Philippines}}]]

The [[Earth:1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo|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.

[[File:Mayon1984.jpg|thumb|left|Mayon Volcano overlooks a pastoral scene about five months before the volcano's violent eruption in September 1984.]]

Mayon Volcano is the Philippines' most active volcano. It has steep upper slopes that average 35–40° and is capped by a small summit crater. The historical eruptions of this basaltic-andesitic volcano date back to 1616 and range from [[Earth:Strombolian eruption|Strombolian]] to basaltic [[Earth:Plinian eruption|Plinian eruption]]s. Eruptions occur predominately from the central conduit and have also produced lava flows that travel far down the flanks. Pyroclastic flows and mudflows have commonly swept down many of the roughly 40 ravines that radiate from the summit and have often devastated populated lowland areas.

[[Earth:Taal Volcano|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.

Kanlaon Volcano, the most active volcano in the central Philippines, has erupted 25 times since 1866. Eruptions are typically phreatic explosions of small-to-moderate size that produce minor ash falls near the volcano. On August 10, 1996, Kanlaon erupted without warning, killing 3 persons who were among 24 mountain climbers trapped near the summit.

=== Indonesia ===
[[File:Map indonesia volcanoes.gif|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=A chart with the heading "Major Volcanoes of Indonesia (with eruptions since 1900 A.D.)". Depicted below the heading is an overhead view of a cluster of islands.|Major volcanoes in 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 [[Earth:Lake Toba|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.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mogi |first1=Kiyoo |title=Active periods in the world's chief seismic belts |journal=Tectonophysics |date=June 1974 |volume=22 |issue=3–4 |pages=265–282 |doi=10.1016/0040-1951(74)90086-9 |bibcode=1974Tectp..22..265M }}</ref>

== Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean ==
[[File:Maoke Plate map-fr.png|thumb|Papua New Guinea and tectonic plates: Pacific Plate, Australian Plate, Caroline Plate, Banda Sea Plate (as "Mer de Banda"), Woodlark Plate, Bird's Head Plate, Maoke Plate, Solomon Sea Plate, North Bismarck Plate, South Bismarck Plate and Manus Plate (in French)]]

=== Papua New Guinea ===

=== Solomon Islands ===

=== Vanuatu ===

=== Fiji ===

[[File:Orange glow of magma from West Mata submarine volcano.jpg|thumb|left|Volcanic eruption at [[Earth:West Mata|West Mata]] submarine volcano between Samoa and Tonga, 2010]]

=== Samoa ===

=== Tonga ===
{{clear}}

=== New Zealand ===
[[File:map new zealand volcanoes.gif|thumb|Major volcanoes of New Zealand]]
[[File:Mt Taranaki.JPG|thumb|left|View of [[Earth:Mount Taranaki|Mount Taranaki]] from Stratford]]
New Zealand contains the world's strongest concentration of youthful rhyolitic volcanoes, and voluminous sheets of [[Earth:Tuff|tuff]] blanket much of the North Island. The earliest historically dated eruption was at Whakaari/White Island in 1826,<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051223201353/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/NewZealand/description_new_zealand_volcanoes.html|publisher=USGS CVO|title=New Zealand Volcanoes and Volcanics|access-date=October 15, 2007|url=http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Volcanoes/NewZealand/description_new_zealand_volcanoes.html|archive-date=December 23, 2005}}</ref> followed in 1886 by the country's largest historical eruption at [[Earth:Mount Tarawera|Mount Tarawera]].  Much of the region north of New Zealand's North Island is made up of [[Earth:Seamount|seamount]]s and small islands, including 16 [[Earth:Submarine volcano|submarine volcano]]es. In the last 1.6&nbsp;million years, most of New Zealand's volcanism is from the [[Earth:Taupō Volcanic Zone|Taupō Volcanic Zone]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.geonet.org.nz/volcano|title=GeoNet|location=New Zealand}}</ref>

[[Earth:Mount Ruapehu|Mount Ruapehu]], at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone, is one of the most active volcanoes in New Zealand.<ref name="crlk">{{cite web| title=Crater&nbsp;Lake Climb| url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/tracks-and-walks/central-north-island/ruapehu/mount-ruapehu-crater-climb/features/ | author=New Zealand Department of Conservation | access-date=October 23, 2006}}</ref> It began erupting at least 250,000 years ago. In recorded history, major eruptions have been about 50 years apart,<ref name="crlk" /> in 1895, 1945, and 1995–1996. Minor eruptions are frequent, with at least 60 since 1945. Some of the minor eruptions in the 1970s generated small ash falls and lahars that damaged ski fields.<ref name="cniv">{{cite web|title=Central North Island Volcanoes|url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/national-parks/tongariro/features/central-north-island-volcanoes/|author=New Zealand Department of Conservation|access-date=October 23, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101229222806/http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/national-parks/tongariro/features/central-north-island-volcanoes/|archive-date=December 29, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> Between major eruptions, a warm acidic crater lake forms, fed by melting snow. Major eruptions may completely expel the lake water. Where a major eruption has deposited a tephra dam across the lake's outlet, the dam may collapse after the lake has refilled and risen above the level of its normal outlet, the outrush of water causing a large lahar. The most notable lahar caused the Tangiwai disaster on December 24, 1953, when 151 people aboard a Wellington to Auckland express train were killed after the lahar destroyed the Tangiwai rail bridge just moments before the train was due. In 2000, the ERLAWS system was installed on the mountain to detect such a collapse and alert the relevant authorities.

The Auckland volcanic field on the North Island of New Zealand has produced a diverse array of explosive craters, scoria cones, and lava flows. Currently dormant, the field is likely to erupt again within the next "hundreds to thousands of years", a very short timeframe in geologic terms.<ref name="CONT">{{cite book |author1=Beca Carter Hollings and Ferner |title=Contingency plan for the Auckland Volcanic Field |date=January 2002 |oclc=155932538 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116164441/http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/library/c28192_2.pdf |url=http://www.arc.govt.nz/arc/library/c28192_2.pdf |archive-date=January 16, 2006 |publisher=Auckland Regional Council |page=4 }}</ref> The field contains at least 40 volcanoes, most recently active about 600 years ago at [[Earth:Rangitoto Island|Rangitoto Island]], erupting {{convert|2.3|km3|mi3|abbr=on}} of lava.

==Soil==

The soils of the Pacific Ring of Fire include [[Earth:Andosol|andosol]]s, also known as [[Earth:Andisol|andisol]]s, created by the [[Earth:Weathering|weathering]] of [[Earth:Volcanic ash|volcanic ash]]. Andosols contain large proportions of [[Earth:Volcanic glass|volcanic glass]].<ref name="USDA_Soil">{{cite web| title= Andisols | work=National Resource Conservation Service | publisher= United States Department of Agriculture | url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/class/maps/?cid=nrcs142p2_053592 | access-date=18 December 2020 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101123458/https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/soils/survey/class/maps/?cid=nrcs142p2_053592 | archive-date=2020-11-01}}</ref> The Ring of Fire is the world's main location for this soil type, which typically has good levels of [[Chemistry:Soil fertility|fertility]].<ref name="EncycloVolc2015_Soil">{{Cite book | author1-last=Delmelle  | author1-first=P. | author2-last=Opfergelt | author2-first=S. | author3-last=Cornelis  | author3-first=J-T. | author4-last=Ping | author4-first=C-L. | chapter=Volcanic Soils | editor1-last=Sigurdsson | editor1-first=H. | title=Encyclopedia of Volcanoes | edition=2nd | pages=1253–1264 | publisher =Elsevier | location=Amsterdam | date=2015 | isbn=978-0-12-385938-9}}</ref>

== See also ==
*{{Annotated link|Decade Volcanoes}}
*{{Annotated link|Deep Earth Carbon Degassing Project}} 
*{{Annotated link|Geology of the Pacific Northwest}}
*{{Annotated link|Pacific Rim}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060117041632/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/faq/hist.html Historic Earthquakes & Earthquake Statistics] at the United States Geological Survey
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051231014659/http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectonics/description_plate_tectonics.html DESCRIPTION: "Ring of Fire", Plate Tectonics, Sea-Floor Spreading, Subduction Zones, "Hot Spots"] at the USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington Web site.
* [http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/fire.html Map of the Ring of Fire] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060206205546/http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/fire.html |date=2006-02-06 }}
* [http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/OceanStudyAndConservation/SeaFloorGeology/1/ENZ-Resources/Standard/3/en Ring of Fire, tectonic activity]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060516031025/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/ The Ring of Fire at work]
* [[commons:Image:World-map-2004-cia-factbook-large-2m.jpg|Physical World Map 2004-04-01 CIA World Factbook; Robinson Projection; standard parallels 38°N and 38°S]]

{{Regions of the world}}
{{Navboxes
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{{Navbox
| name = Pacific Ring of Fire
| title = Countries of the Pacific Ring of Fire <!-- please, no ext. links in navboxes -->
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| list1 = Belize • Bolivia • Brazil • Canada • Colombia • {{wipe|Chile}} • Costa&nbsp;Rica • Ecuador • East&nbsp;Timor • El&nbsp;Salvador • Micronesia • Fiji • Guatemala • Honduras • Indonesia • Japan • Kiribati • Mexico • [[Earth:New Zealand|New&nbsp;Zealand]] • Nicaragua • Palau • Papua&nbsp;New&nbsp;Guinea • Panama • Peru • {{wipe|Philippines}} • Russia • Samoa • Solomon&nbsp;Islands • Tonga • Tuvalu • {{wipe|United States}}
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| title = [[Earth:Oceanic trench|Oceanic trench]]es of the Pacific Ring of Fire
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{{Navbox
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| title = Tectonic plates of the Pacific Ring of Fire
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| list1 = [[Earth:Antarctic Plate|Antarctic&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Australian Plate|Australian&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Caribbean Plate|Caribbean&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Cocos Plate|Cocos&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Eurasian Plate|Eurasian&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Explorer Plate|Explorer&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Gorda Plate|Gorda&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Juan de Fuca Plate|Juan&nbsp;de&nbsp;Fuca&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Nazca Plate|Nazca&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:North American Plate|North&nbsp;American&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Pacific Plate|Pacific&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:Philippine Sea Plate|Philippine Sea Plate]] • [[Earth:Rivera Plate|Rivera&nbsp;Plate]] • [[Earth:South American Plate|South&nbsp;American&nbsp;Plate]]
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{{Navbox
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| title = [[Earth:Volcano|Volcano]]es of the Pacific Ring of Fire
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| list1 = [[Earth:Mount Baker|Baker]] • Bulusan • Cold&nbsp;Bay • [[Earth:Concepción (volcano)|Concepción]] • [[Earth:Volcán de Fuego|Fuego]] • [[Earth:Mount Fuji|Fuji]] • [[Earth:Galeras|Galeras]] • Hood  • Krakatoa • Mayon • [[Earth:Cascade Volcanoes|Cascade Volcanoes]] • Merapi • [[Earth:Momotombo|Momotombo]] • [[Earth:Novarupta|Novarupta]] • Parícutin • Pico&nbsp;de&nbsp;Orizaba • [[Earth:Mount Pinatubo|Pinatubo]] • [[Earth:Popocatépetl|Popocatépetl]] • [[Earth:Mount Shasta|Shasta]] • [[Earth:Mount Rainier|Rainier]] • [[Earth:Mount Ruapehu|Ruapehu]] • [[Earth:Nevado del Ruiz|Nevado&nbsp;del&nbsp;Ruiz]] • [[Earth:Mount St. Helens|Saint&nbsp;Helens]] • Tambora • [[Earth:Mount Taranaki|Taranaki]] • [[Earth:Tungurahua|Tungurahua]] • [[Earth:Mount Usu|Usu]] • [[Earth:Hoodoo Mountain|Hoodoo]] • [[Earth:Mount Edziza|Edziza]] • [[Earth:Tseax Cone|Tseax]] • The Volcano • [[Earth:Mount Meager massif|Meager]] • [[Earth:Mount Garibaldi|Garibaldi]] • Cayley • [[Earth:Silverthrone Caldera|Silverthrone]] • Volcano Mountain
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{{Navbox
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| title = Other Notable [[Earth:Geography|Geographic]] Features of the Pacific Ring of Fire
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| list1 = [[Earth:Alaska|Alaska]] • [[Biography:Aleutian Islands|Aleutian&nbsp;Islands]] • American&nbsp;cordillera • [[Place:Andes|Andes]] • [[Earth:Antarctica|Antarctica]] • [[Place:Bali|Bali]] • Borneo • Bougainville • British&nbsp;Columbia • {{wipe|California}} • Cascade&nbsp;Range • [[Earth:Challenger Deep|Challenger&nbsp;Deep]] • Coast&nbsp;Mountains • Fais&nbsp;Island • Flores • Guam • Honshū • Insular&nbsp;Mountains • Java • Kamchatka • Kurile&nbsp;Islands • Luzon • Mariana&nbsp;Islands • [[Place:Melanesia|Melanesia]] • [[Place:Micronesia|Micronesia]] • Mindanao • New&nbsp;Guinea • North&nbsp;Island&nbsp;(NZL) • Northern&nbsp;Mariana&nbsp;Islands • Oregon • Pacific&nbsp;Coast&nbsp;Range • [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific&nbsp;Ocean]] • [[Place:Polynesia|Polynesia]] • Rocky Mountains • San&nbsp;Andreas&nbsp;Fault • Queen Charlotte Fault • Sierra&nbsp;Madre&nbsp;(PHL) • Sierra&nbsp;Madre&nbsp;(USA) • Sierra&nbsp;Madre&nbsp;del&nbsp;Sur • Sierra&nbsp;Madre&nbsp;Occidental • Sierra&nbsp;Madre&nbsp;Oriental • South&nbsp;Island&nbsp;(NZL) • Sulawesi • Timor • {{wipe|Washington (state)}} • Yap • Yukon Territory
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[[Category:Plate tectonics]]
[[Category:Volcanology]]
[[Category:Extreme points of Earth]]
[[Category:Geology of the Pacific Ocean]]

{{Sourceattribution|Ring of Fire}}