Pacific Ring of Fire
Ring of Fire. Click image to see large version. Courtesy USGS
The Ring of Fire is a zone of frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that encircles the basin of the Pacific Ocean. It is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches and volcanic mountain ranges.
A number of land and sea features are in the Ring of Fire: (here listed clockwise)
- New Zealand
- Kermadec Trench
- Tonga Trench
- Bougainville Trench
- Java Trench
- Indonesia
- Philippines
- Philippine Trench
- Mariana Trench
- Izu Bonin Trench
- Ryukyu Trench
- Japan
- Japan Trench
- Kurile Trench
- Kamchatka
- Aleutian Islands
- Aleutian Trench
- Alaska
- Cascade Range
- California
- Mexico
- Middle America Trench
- Guatemala
- Colombia
- Ecuador
- Peru
- Peru-Chile Trench
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