GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Sixty percent of all active volcanoes occur at the boundaries between tectonic plates. Most volcanoes are found along a belt, called the “Ring of Fire” that encircles the Pacific Ocean. Some volcanoes, like those that form the Hawaiian Islands, occur in the interior of plates at areas called “hot spots.”

Detailed explanation-2: -There are volcanoes on every continent, even Antarctica. Some 1, 500 volcanoes are still considered potentially active around the world today; 161 of those-over 10 percent-sit within the boundaries of the United States.

Detailed explanation-3: -About five percent of all known volcanoes form in the middle of plates, not at their edges. These intraplate volcanoes are caused by hot spots, unusually hot areas deep within the Earth. Magma rises from the hot spots and erupts as lava through cracks in the Earth’s surface forming volcanoes.

Detailed explanation-4: -Hot spots, Divergent plate boundaries (such as rifts and mid-ocean ridges), and. Convergent plate boundaries (subduction zones) 24-May-2010