The Ring of Fire is a horseshoe-shaped belt about 40,000 km (25,000 mi) long and up to about 500 km (310 mi) wide. The Ring of Fire is not a single geological structure. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes in each part of the Ring of Fire occur independently of eruptions and earthquakes in the other parts of the Ring.

It traces boundaries between several tectonic plates—including the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates. Seventy-five percent of Earth’s volcanoes—more than 450 volcanoes—are located along the Ring of Fire.

Geologic features along the Ring of Fire include not only volcanoes, but ocean trenches, mountain trenches, hydrothermal vents, and sites of earthquake activity. The Pacific Plate, which drives much of the tectonic activity in the Ring of Fire, is cooling off.

Also known as the Circum-Pacific Belt, the Ring of Fire traces the meeting points of many tectonic plates, including the Eurasian, North American, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Caribbean, Nazca, Antarctic, Indian, Australian, Philippine, and other smaller plates, which all encircle the large Pacific Plate.

7 Hot Facts About the Pacific Ring of Fire

• It’s an International Sensation.
• Plate Tectonics Make the Whole Thing Possible.
• It’s Home to World’s Deepest Ocean Trench.
• It’s Littered With Volcanoes and Prone to Earthquakes.
• Its Quakes Aren’t Always Interconnected.
• It’s a Great Producer of Geothermal Energy.

Explore his Octopus Den and get up-close to fascinating animals like Moon Jellyfish and Japanese Spider Crabs. They all make their home in a constantly changing ecosystem along the Ring of Fire where towering volcanoes and deep ocean trenches line the Pacific Ocean.

Associate Professor Mark Quigley, who specialises in earthquake science at Melbourne University, told SBS News the Ring of Fire got its name from the volcanic activity around the Pacific plate boundary. “The Pacific plate is subducting,” he said.

Japan’s stretch of the Ring of Fire is where the North American, Pacific, Eurasian and Philippine plates come together. Friday’s temblor struck 231 miles (373 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo and 80 miles (130 km) east of Sendai, Honshu, in the Pacific Ocean near the Japan Trench.

There are actually well-documented geological reasons why Japan is so earthquake-prone. Japan and earthquakes go hand in hand due to the country’s position along the “Pacific Ring of Fire,” where it lies across three tectonic plates, including the Pacific Plate under the Pacific Ocean and the Philippine Sea Plate.

Japan is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters because of its climate and topography, and it has experienced countless earthquakes, typhoons, and other types of disasters. Second, Japan’s topography is rugged and there are many faults and steep inclines.

Authorities issued a tsunami warning for Japan on Saturday after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Miyagi prefecture. Tsunami waves of up to 1 meter (3.2 feet) hit land shortly after the earthquake, local television channel NHK reported.

UPDATE – 5 December 2018 The 28 September 2018 magnitude 7.5 Palu, Indonesia earthquake (0.178°S, 119.840°E, depth 13 km) occurred at 1002 UTC. The major earthquake triggered catastrophic liquefaction, landslides, and a near-field tsunami that resulted in direct damage, impact, economic loss, and loss of life.

The 2021 Los Angeles Mega-Tsunami was the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States. Triggered by a massive unknown underwater volcano near Hawaii, the tsunami was eighty feet in height upon making landfall in southwestern California on April 1, 2021.