Where crustal plates collide: The San Andreas Fault (infrared photograph) runs through much of California. As the western plate, on the right, grinds north, earthquakes rock the land.

Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic
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Plate Tectonics and the Ring of Fire
Plate Tectonics and the Ring of Fire Article

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4 - 12 and up

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Earth Science, Geography

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The Ring of Fire is a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes, around the edges of the Pacific Ocean.

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Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic

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