What is the Ring of Fire?

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The Ring of Fire is a name for the area around the edge of the Pacific Ocean, where there are many big earthquakes and a lot of volcanic activity. Look at the map on the right. Can you see New Zealand? (Try finding Australia, and then thinking where New Zealand is.)

If you look at this map, you can see that the Ring of Fire is around the edges of the Pacific tectonic plate. The earthquakes and volcanoes that happen in the Ring of Fire are caused by the Pacific Plate colliding with the plates that are all around it. That is why you see so many earthquakes and volcanoes in this part of the world.

You can also get lots of tsunamis in this area. A tsunami is a giant wave where water rushes away from the land and back again, several times. If there is a big earthquake under the sea, this can set one off, and people get very little time to get to safety. Why do you think there are lots of photos of the damage tsunami cause, but not many of them in action?