Previous Year Question
The coast areas of which of the following oceans are called ‘ring of fire’?
Atlantic Ocean
Pacific Ocean
Indian Ocean
None of the above
Correct Answer: B
Detailed Solution
The Ring of Fire or Circum-Pacific Belt is a highly tectonically active zone extending around the Pacific Ocean. It contains the boundaries of the Pacific Plate and several surrounding tectonic plates.
Over much of this region, one oceanic plate is subducted beneath another plate. Subduction produces deep ocean trenches, volcanic arcs, earthquakes and explosive volcanoes. Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand and the Pacific margins of North and South America form major parts of this belt.
Several major deep-sea trenches, including the Aleutian Trench, Japan Trench, Mariana Trench and Peru-Chile Trench, occur around the Pacific Ocean. Large numbers of active volcanoes are also concentrated near these plate boundaries.
According to the USGS, the Circum-Pacific Ring of Fire is the world's most seismically and volcanically active zone. About 90% of the world's earthquakes occur around this broad belt, which is why it is known as the ‘Ring of Fire’.