DISTRIBUTION OF VOLCANOES

Borders of the Pacific Oceans. This is the most outstanding volcanic belt of the world in which 403 active volcanoes are found A reveals that the volcanoes of the world are distributed in a specific manner. Most of the volcanoes are near the sea coast or on the Island because there are greater possibilities of percolation of water in these areas. The second important area of volcanic activity is that of new fold mountains. The mountain-building forces have left a very thin and weak crust in areas of folding and faulting. The total comes to 522 if the more ancient known eruptions are taken into account.

 This known as the ring of fire. On the east coast of the Pacific Ocean, this belt extends from Cape Horn of South America to Alaska in North America. Along the western coast of the Pacific, this belt extends to Kurile Islands, Japan and Philippines Islands.

Mid-world Belt. This is also known as Alpine-Himalayan belt. It starts from Madeira and Canary Islands and crosses the Mediterranean Sea beyond which it runs along the Alps and Himalayan ranges. After crossing the Himalayans, this belt crosses yunan, Myanmar, Andaman and ends in Indonesian Islands.

Other Areas. Some volcanoes are situated in the mid-Atlantic where Cape Verde is very famous. Azores, St. Helena and Ascension are volcanic islands but 20 very active volcanoes. Comoro, Mauritius and Reunion are important volcanoes near Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Some active volcanoes such as Arelus and Terror are found close to Antarctica.