Integrated Coordinated Science for the 21st Century

Where do most volcanoes on land form?

Volcanoes normally occur in major tectonic plate boundaries. About 75% of earth's volcanoes occurs in the 'Pacific Ring of Fire,' which is a tectonic plate boundary. The Hawaiian islands and Yellowstone are also hot spots for volcanoes.

Where do most volcanoes occur on the earth's surface?

volcanoes occur along the plate boundaries of the 16 major plates on earth. most are found on the ocean floor near hot spots underground.

Why does the horizontal scale of a Mercator projection increase with latitude?

whenever you try to map a curved (spherical) surface onto a flat map you get distortion. The only way to map a sphere accurately is to make a globe, all other methods are only approximations.

What are hot spots? Provide an example of a hot spot on Earth.

Hot spots are places within the mantle where rocks melt to generate magma. Example the Hawaiian Islands.

Do most volcanoes occur in the northern or southern hemisphere

The southern hemisphere has many. Most of the volcanoes are located in what is called the "ring of fire" in the Pacific Ocean.

Are most volcanoes on land caused by the earths plates moving away from each other or moving toward each other?

Plates move towards one another at convergent boundaries; one plate is forced below another in a process called subduction. Earthquakes and composite volcanoes are common at this type of boundary.

How are rift valleys formed?

Rift valleys form as a result of a continental plate breaking apart. The east african rift valley is a good example. As the plates move apart the ground sinks and forms a valley.

What is the Ring of Fire, and where is it located?

The Ring of Fire is a ring of volcanoes around the Pacific Ocean that result from subduction of oceanic plates beneath lighter continental plates.

What evidence do geologists have that volcanoes occur on the ocean floor?

The volcanic rocks on the floors of the ocean basins.