GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Most of Alaska’s volcanoes are located along the 2, 500-kilometer-long (1, 550-mile-long) Aleutian Arc, which extends westward to Kamchatka and forms the northern portion of the Pacific “ring of fire” (interactive map).

Detailed explanation-2: -Alaska has 80 percent of all the active volcanoes in the United States and 10 percent of those found in the world.

Detailed explanation-3: -Alaska’s Aleutian Arc volcanoes have formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the North American Plate at the Aleutian Trench. In total, the state has over 130 volcanoes (more than any other state) with fifty-four considered to be historically active (active within the last  300 years).

Detailed explanation-4: -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.”