The Pacific Ring of Fire, also known as the “Circum-Pacific Belt” or the “Circum-Pacific Seismic Belt”, has a 40,000 km distance in the shape of a horse shoe around the outskirts of northern New Zealand, some Pacific Islands and Indonesia, eastern Asia, southern Alaska and Canada, and western America (the continent) which consists of 452 volcanoes. This pattern is peripheral because it is along the outskirts of countries/continents. It stretches across the Northern and Southern Hemispheres but sits (mostly) comfortable in the Western Hemisphere, excluding the wider continent of Oceania (which lies mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere).
The Ring of Fire houses 75% of the world’s volcanoes (active and dormant). The process that caused these natural disasters is subduction, where the denser Pacific tectonic plate has subducted (or slid underneath) surrounding plates and has collided with smaller lithospheric plates. The subducting plate forces magma out of the Earth's mantle up to the Earth's Crust. This magma eventually builds up and pushes through the Earth's surface, forming a volcanic eruption. This subduction has also caused major Earthquakes in cities like Christchurch (in New Zealand, Oceania, in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres) and countries like Chile (South America, in the Southern and Western Hemispheres) and Japan (Eurasia - Asia - in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres). The Subduction Zone has many different plate boundaries, i.e. converging and diverging.
The perception of the negative and positive effects differentiate between each volcano. This pattern of volcanoes has many positive and negative effects towards a wide population. Some positive effects would be that they provide food, water and basic needs (electricity, warmth, etc.) and resources for people globally and locally. Specific examples of this include Mount St. Helens (located in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres in the continent of America - more specifically in the region of North America - in the country of the United States of America and in Washington State) provides streams and rivers (like Toutle River, Kalama River, and Lewis River) that produce hydroelectric power to the surrounding neighbourhoods through dams (which effects peoples lives with providing them with basic needs and warmth), and Parícutin which provides fertile farmland for surrounding farmers (which helps the local economy and provides food and water for those who are in need). Another positive effect this pattern has on the surrounding people/global people is the tourist attraction which would raise the local and global economy just a smidge. A specific example of this is is that Parícutin is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which would draw tourists towards the attraction (effecting their travels and time/money they spend, which would effect their life) and provide the local towns/cities with a better economy from tourists. These examples are shown throughout the Ring of Fire and the land/areas surrounding them. All of the examples above are positive and long term.
However, most of the volcanoes in the Pacific peripheral pattern of the Ring of Fire has killed at least one person from their explosions, which would effect people's lives in negative ways because of the onslaught of depression and lack of social interaction. This, although tragic, is only a short-term effect of the volcanoes. Another negative effect of this pattern is the threat of future explosions. This fear has caused many people to move away to different countries/states/cities , which negatively effect the local economy and environment, but positively effect the economy and environment of popular moving locations. The threat also effects the neighbourhoods surrounding the volcanoes, because of the possible mass destruction of homes and properties and the losses of millions of lives (which would effect millions of people globally through depression).
Image from: http://lovebaeyongjoon.com/2011/03/13/sharing-on-the-earthquake/
The Ring of Fire houses 75% of the world’s volcanoes (active and dormant). The process that caused these natural disasters is subduction, where the denser Pacific tectonic plate has subducted (or slid underneath) surrounding plates and has collided with smaller lithospheric plates. The subducting plate forces magma out of the Earth's mantle up to the Earth's Crust. This magma eventually builds up and pushes through the Earth's surface, forming a volcanic eruption. This subduction has also caused major Earthquakes in cities like Christchurch (in New Zealand, Oceania, in the Southern and Eastern Hemispheres) and countries like Chile (South America, in the Southern and Western Hemispheres) and Japan (Eurasia - Asia - in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres). The Subduction Zone has many different plate boundaries, i.e. converging and diverging.
The perception of the negative and positive effects differentiate between each volcano. This pattern of volcanoes has many positive and negative effects towards a wide population. Some positive effects would be that they provide food, water and basic needs (electricity, warmth, etc.) and resources for people globally and locally. Specific examples of this include Mount St. Helens (located in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres in the continent of America - more specifically in the region of North America - in the country of the United States of America and in Washington State) provides streams and rivers (like Toutle River, Kalama River, and Lewis River) that produce hydroelectric power to the surrounding neighbourhoods through dams (which effects peoples lives with providing them with basic needs and warmth), and Parícutin which provides fertile farmland for surrounding farmers (which helps the local economy and provides food and water for those who are in need). Another positive effect this pattern has on the surrounding people/global people is the tourist attraction which would raise the local and global economy just a smidge. A specific example of this is is that Parícutin is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which would draw tourists towards the attraction (effecting their travels and time/money they spend, which would effect their life) and provide the local towns/cities with a better economy from tourists. These examples are shown throughout the Ring of Fire and the land/areas surrounding them. All of the examples above are positive and long term.
However, most of the volcanoes in the Pacific peripheral pattern of the Ring of Fire has killed at least one person from their explosions, which would effect people's lives in negative ways because of the onslaught of depression and lack of social interaction. This, although tragic, is only a short-term effect of the volcanoes. Another negative effect of this pattern is the threat of future explosions. This fear has caused many people to move away to different countries/states/cities , which negatively effect the local economy and environment, but positively effect the economy and environment of popular moving locations. The threat also effects the neighbourhoods surrounding the volcanoes, because of the possible mass destruction of homes and properties and the losses of millions of lives (which would effect millions of people globally through depression).
Image from: http://lovebaeyongjoon.com/2011/03/13/sharing-on-the-earthquake/