The melted rock, or magma, often pushes through cracks in the crust to form volcanoes. As heat rises from a hot spot, it melts the rock above it. The Ring of Fire is also home to hot spots. Measuring about 1,287 kilometers (800 miles) long and 16 kilometers (10 miles) deep, the fault cuts through California. It lies on the transform boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate. The San Andreas Fault is one of the busiest faults on the Ring of Fire. Most of Earth's faults can be found along transform boundaries in the Ring of Fire. The gaps between these plates are called faults. Parts of these plates break or slip as they rub against each other. The plates push forward and cause earthquakes. The new solid rock forms new crust.Ī transform boundary is formed when tectonic plates slide past each other. The old crust pulls itself in opposite directions and liquid rock comes up from below. ![]() When it reaches the Earth's surface, the magma creates volcanoes.Ī divergent boundary is formed when tectonic plates pull apart from each other. The liquid rock rises through gaps in the crust over millions of years. At these boundaries, the heavier plate can slip under the lighter plate. The rock underneath gets so hot that it melts. A convergent boundary is formed by tectonic plates crashing into each other. There are three types of plate boundaries. Sometimes they crash together, move apart or slide next to each other. The boundaries, or edges, of these plates form the Ring of Fire. The plates are always moving, but they move very slowly. ![]() The crust is split into huge slabs called tectonic plates, which are as large as continents. The top layer of Earth is called the crust. A group of volcanoes in Antarctica close the ring. The ring stretches from the southern tip of South America, up along the coast of North America, over to eastern Russia, down through Japan and into New Zealand. The Ring of Fire is shaped like an approximately 40,000 kilometers (25,000-mile) horseshoe. Three-fourths of all active volcanoes on Earth are along the ring. About 9 out of 10 earthquakes happen on the Ring of Fire. The Ring of Fire is a string of volcanoes and earthquake sites all along the edges of the Pacific Ocean.
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