Eight countries located on the Pacific Ring of Fire

Stretching roughly 40,000 kilometers around the Pacific Ocean, the Ring of Fire is one of Earth’s most geologically active regions. It contains hundreds of volcanoes and is associated with about 90% of the world’s earthquakes.

The horseshoe-shaped zone reflects the movement of tectonic plates. It links volcanic regions from Japan and Indonesia in Asia to Chile and Mexico in the Americas. National Geographic describes a chain of 452 volcanoes running from the southern tip of South America along the Pacific coast of North America, across the Bering Strait, through Japan and into New Zealand.

Indonesia is home to Krakatau, whose catastrophic 1883 eruption destroyed the island and sent volcanic gas, ash and rocks as high as 80 kilometers into the atmosphere. Mount Anak Krakatau later formed at the site and has experienced repeated minor eruptions. Japan’s Mount Fuji, the country’s tallest and most famous mountain, remains an active volcano and last erupted in 1707.

New Zealand’s Mount Ruapehu stands 2,797 meters above sea level and experiences minor eruptions roughly every year, while major eruptions occur about every 50 years, according to National Geographic. Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula forms part of the Ring of Fire’s western edge, alongside other major volcanic areas. The United States also contains significant volcanic and seismic zones, including Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and the Cascade Mountains.