---
title: "Ring of Fire"
description: "Recognise that volcanoes and earthquakes tend to happen in certain places — especially around the edges of the Pacific Ocean (Ring of Fire) — not randomly across the Earth"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/ring-of-fire-mt_bhwf_rDXQL
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/ring-of-fire-mt_bhwf_rDXQL.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Ring of Fire

Recognise that volcanoes and earthquakes tend to happen in certain places — especially around the edges of the Pacific Ocean (Ring of Fire) — not randomly across the Earth

Subject: Science · Area: Volcanoes & Earthquakes · Ages 7 to 9
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/ring-of-fire-mt_bhwf_rDXQL

## Ready when they can

- Describe the pattern that volcanoes and earthquakes cluster in certain zones
- Locate the Ring of Fire on a world map
- Explain that the locations of earthquakes and volcanoes are not random

## Lesson: The Ring of Fire

You already know what earthquakes and volcanoes are. But here is something interesting: they do not happen just anywhere on Earth. If you marked every earthquake and volcano on a world map, they would not be scattered like confetti. They would line up in bands and loops.

*(drawing: Picture a loop drawn all the way around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. That loop is called the Ring of Fire.)*

**Example.** Japan sits right on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, on the Ring of Fire. It has many earthquakes and volcanoes. A place in the middle of a continent, far from any ocean edge, rarely has either.

**Tip.** To find the Ring of Fire on a map, trace the west coasts of North and South America, up through Alaska, down through Japan and the Philippines, and around to New Zealand. That whole loop is the Ring of Fire.

**Recap.** Earthquakes and volcanoes are not scattered randomly. They cluster in bands and loops, and the biggest loop, the Ring of Fire, circles the edges of the Pacific Ocean.

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Fast & Slow Earth Changes](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/fast-and-slow-earth-changes-mt_adpdEaKEBC)
- [What Is an Earthquake](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/what-is-an-earthquake-mt_e29VrLfmYt)
- [Shapes of land and water](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/shapes-of-land-and-water-mt_KsKLVW_ssY)
- [Why Earthquakes Happen](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/why-earthquakes-happen-mt_NVr4AhsvIq)
- [What Is a Volcano](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/what-is-a-volcano-mt_S9SKah-yi_)

## Opens up

- [Measuring Earthquake Strength](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/measuring-earthquake-strength-mt_mdZ3nBWChW)
- [Tectonic Plates](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/tectonic-plates-mt_XrvPx5kUfO)