About 95% of Earth's volcanoes and earthquakes occur at plate edges, known as plate boundaries. As an example, Mt. St. Helens in Washington is located in the Pacific “Ring of Fire” and is created by a convergent boundary.
About 95% of active volcanoes occur at the plate subduction zones and at the mid-oceanic ridges (Figure 10n-1). The other 5% occur in areas associated with lithospheric hot spots.
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.”
The Ring of Fire is a string of volcanoes and sites of seismic activity, or earthquakes, around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. Roughly 90 percent of all earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, and the ring is dotted with 75 percent of all active volcanoes on Earth.
Thus, most of the volcanoes are found on the plate boundaries. More than 400 volcanoes—about 80 percent of all active volcanoes above sea level—are along subduction zones in the Pacific Ocean.
Seventy-five percent of Earth's volcanoes—more than 450 volcanoes—are located along the Ring of Fire.
Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country in the world. The 1815 eruption of its Mount Tambora still holds the record for the largest in recent history. Indonesia is one of many places located within the world's most volcanically, and seismically, active zone, known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.
It is generally thought that there are about 1,500 potentially active volcanoes around the world, about 500 of which have erupted in historical times.
With 12 volcanoes in Russia there have been a total of 18 significant eruptions over the past 1,800 years. The worst volcanic eruption in terms of deaths, destroyed houses and financial damages happened on 01/01/1872 with the eruption of "Sinarka".
Indonesia has the highest number of active volcanoes in the world and is one of the places in the world that are located within the Pacific Ring of Fire. This is a 25,000 mile (40,000km) horseshoe-shaped region that borders the Pacific Ocean, where countless tectonic plates clash.
Of the 1,450 volcanoes listed in the table of landform types, 80 percent occur along subduction zones, and 15 percent occur along rift zones.
As the lava cools, it forms new crust on the edges of the cracks. These mid-ocean ridges are actually long chains of underwater volcanoes that circle the planet like the seams on a baseball. About 80 to 90 percent of all volcanic eruptions occur where the plates spread apart.
The colour of lavas can be associated with the temperature reached at the surface: dark red at low temperatures (475°C), orange at 900°C and white at extremely high temperature (>1150°C) (Kilburn, 2000).
Lava's temperature can range between 1,300 to 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. For example, lava traveling through a Hawaiian volcano's tubes, or underground passageways, is about 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Iceland contains about 200 volcanoes and has one-third of Earth's total lava flow.
Volcanoes in Australia
However, there are two active volcanoes located 4000 kilometres south west of Perth in the Australian Antarctic Territory: Heard Island and the nearby McDonald Islands. South-eastern Australia is home to the Newer Volcanics Province which has been dormant for the past 5 000 years.
Volcanoes in Indonesia are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. The 150 entries in the list below are grouped into six geographical regions, four of which belong to the volcanoes of the Sunda Arc trench system.
There are no volcanoes on the Australian mainland that have erupted since European settlement, but some volcanoes in Victoria, South Australia and North Queensland could have been witnessed by Aboriginal people several thousand years ago.
There are more than 1500 active volcanoes on Earth. Around 50–70 volcanoes erupt every year. There are 82 volcanoes in Europe and 32 of these are in Iceland, one of the UK's closest 'volcanic neighbours'.
There are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide, aside from the continuous belts of volcanoes on the ocean floor at spreading centers like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. About 500 of those 1,350 volcanoes have erupted in historical time.
Volcanic eruptions have played a significant role in the formation of both the sea bottom and some mountains. In the early days of the earth's history, the atmosphere was formed by gases emitted by volcanoes. According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), there are about 1,350 potentially active volcanoes worldwide.
Most people (including many scientists) are unaware that Antarctica has volcanoes. Yet they are common and include some of the largest in the world. Of course, most are almost completely covered by the Antarctic ice sheet.
Venus has more volcanoes than any other planet in the solar system. Over 1600 major volcanoes or volcanic features are known (see map), and there are many, many more smaller volcanoes. (No one has yet counted them all, but the total number may be over 100,000 or even over 1,000,000).