If you were to look at a map of the world’s major earthquakes and volcanoes, you would notice a pattern circling the Pacific Ocean. This dense accumulation of earthquakes and volcanoes is known as the Ring of Fire. The ring is due to plate tectonics and the merger of the Pacific plate with other surrounding plates, which creates faults and seismic activity (especially Alaska, Japan, Oceania, and the west coasts of North and South America), along with volcanic mountain ranges such as the Cascades of the U.S. Pacific Northwest and the Andes of South America.