What is the Ring of Fire?

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) is a region on the Pacific Ocean’s rim that is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped belt 40,000 kilometers (25,000 miles) long and up to 500 kilometers (310 miles) wide.

The Pacific coasts of South America, North America, and Kamchatka, as well as some islands in the western Pacific Ocean, are all part of the Ring of Fire. Although geologists agree on almost all areas included in the Ring of Fire, they disagree on the inclusion or exclusion of a few areas, such as the Antarctic Peninsula and western Indonesia.

The Ring of Fire does not consist of a single geological structure. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur independently of eruptions and earthquakes in other parts of the Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire contains between 850 and 1,000 volcanoes (roughly two-thirds of the world’s total) that were active during the Holocene. The four largest volcanic eruptions on Earth during the Holocene epoch all occurred at Ring of Fire volcanoes. Historically, over 350 of the Ring of Fire’s volcanoes have been active.