At first, the Ring of Fire somehow sounds like a fantasy movie title to me, wherein a magician can create fire loops and use them to defeat horrendous monsters. However, this is not the case. The Ring of Fire is actually quite geological, and it exists on Earth very near to where we are living.
Many of us living in the Philippines may have heard of the Ring of Fire frequently. You will then know that it isn’t actually a fantasy world’s magic trick where we can use it to attack monsters or compete with others on who will make the biggest fire loop. It is actually a path that exists around the Pacific Ocean and is also called the Circum-Pacific Belt.
Being almost 40,000 kilometers, the Ring of Fire covers the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates. The reason why the Ring of Fire is actually called the Ring of Fire is because of the active volcanoes lying on the path. Volcano eruptions, by themselves, are overwhelming natural calamities, but together with volcanoes come the earthquakes.
Many of us might have experienced earthquake drills in schools. It might be tiring to duck, cover, and hold or to walk a long distance to reach a safe area. However, most of the Earth’s seismic events happen near the Ring of Fire. The reason behind these calamities is because of the movement of tectonic plates. These plates are subducted and are pushed down under the continental plates they border, causing earthquakes and magmas to form, leading to volcanic activities.
These volcanic and earthquake activities are traced around the map like a ring—which doesn’t look that circular—therefore forming the Ring of Fire.
It is always good to be prepared, as we are living in the surroundings of the Ring of Fire. We never know when natural calamities will occur, so make sure to not panic and follow the safety instructions that have been taught to us in school and elsewhere.
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