What is the Pacific Ring of Fire?

The Pacific Ring of Fire is a major zone of tectonic activity that stretches along the edges of the Pacific Ocean. It includes many of the world’s active volcanoes and the majority of its earthquakes because several tectonic plates meet there. Countries around the ring include Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Chile and the western coasts of the Americas. The region is especially associated with subduction, where one plate sinks beneath another and melts to feed volcanism.