Ring of Fire: the Pacific's Most Active Earthquake Zones This Month

The Ring of Fire is not a metaphor. It is a 40,000 km horseshoe of tectonic plate boundaries encircling the Pacific Ocean, and it is responsible for 90% of the world's earthquakes and 75% of its active volcanoes. Along its arc, oceanic plates dive beneath continental plates or collide with each other in geological slow motion — releasing energy in earthquakes, eruptions, and tsunamis that have shaped human civilisation for thousands of years. This list highlights the most significant Ring of Fire earthquake zones from this past month's USGS significant earthquake feed, tracing the arc from the Americas through the Pacific islands to East Asia.