In the world we live in today, there exist strange and unique geographical locations and physical features. It takes the effort of geographers and archaeologists to identify them since they impact on the people either positively or negatively. One of these regions, for instance, is the Ring of Fire. It is an enclosed area in the Pacific Ocean which is associated with the occurrences of both earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
The Ring of Fire covers an estimated area of 40000 km in the entire Pacific Ocean. The enclosed region is horse-shoe shaped. It consists of a series of volcanoes that are as a result of submergence of the heavy oceanic plates under the lighter ones. Most of the world's famous volcanoes are found in this region (De Boer, 2012). They believed to have been formed due to the subduction process. This area poses the risks of earthquakes happening in plenty of countries. Some of the countries exposed to this risk are; Chile, Japan, Solomon Islands, and the West Coast of the USA. Other nations such as Canada, Peru, Taiwan, Mexico, Antarctica, Russia, and Guatemala are located along its fault line.
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The existence of the Ring of Fire region is of great significance. The place is known to be the breeding zone for volcanoes and earthquakes due to the movement of tectonic plates. The resultant features emerge due to the submergence of the oceanic plates during volcanic activities (Pambudi, 2018). These features are like double-edged swords. Both benefits and problems accompany them. The availability of volcanoes in the area provides beautiful scenery. The aesthetic value attracts tourists from all over the world. In return, the respective countries earn foreign exchange that contributes to the development of the economy. Also, in the processes of the earthquake and volcanic eruptions, valuable minerals such as gold may be exposed. In contrary, the occurrence of rapid and violent volcanic activities has claimed a lot of lives and property. This was a case near the city of Pompeii some seven hundred years ago.
Volcanic eruption around the Ring of Fire is an on-going process. The volcanoes are indeed exploding at different times. Some volcanoes are dormant, but there are still higher chances of them erupting in the future. This is because of the non-stop movement of tectonic plates beneath the earth's surface. It's believed that about of the 25 world's largest volcanic eruptions ever from the past experienced took place at the Ring of Fire region. The most deadly eruption was recorded at Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815. Recently, Mount Sinabung has erupted at least three consecutive times.
To some up, the Ring of Fire is an area within the Pacific Ocean vulnerable to the occurrences of both volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. It covers a considerable amount of length, and its impact is felt in a series of countries such as Chile and Solomon Islands. The region is important as it is the source of volcanoes and earthquakes that affect human beings either positively or negatively. The volcanic eruptions around the region are still underway. There is still a higher probability of the dormant volcanoes exploding in the near future.
References
De Boer, J. Z., & Sanders, D. T. (2012). Volcanoes in human history: the far-reaching effects of major eruptions . Princeton University Press.
Pambudi, N. A. (2018). Geothermal power generation in Indonesia, a country within the ring of fire: Current status, future development and policy. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews , 81 , 2893-2901.
