The Ring of Fire Web Assignment

							                                        The Ring of Fire
Objectives:

       review the theory of plate tectonics;
       use the Internet to research the Ring of Fire, and answer questions about this region;
       view an animation of the Earth’s tectonic history, and predict what the Ring of Fire region
        will look like in one hundred million years and
       write a paragraph explaining your prediction;
       list supporting evidence from the Ring of Fire region for Plate Tectonics.


Procedure
Use the Internet to research the geographic region known as the Ring of Fire. Look at the
following Web sites and others:

National Geographic: Forces of Nature—Ring of Fire
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section=v
The Ring of Fire      http://geography.about.com/cs/earthquakes/a/ringoffire.htm
USGS: Active Volcanoes and Plate Tectonics, "Hot Spots" and the "Ring of Fire"
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/PlateTectonics/Maps/map_plate_tectonics_world.html
USGS: Ring of Fire http://pubs.usgs.gov/publications/text/fire.html

As you go through the sites, answer these questions on a word document to turn in:

       Where is the Ring of Fire?
       Why is it called the Ring of Fire?
       What does the Ring of Fire have to do with plate tectonics?
       What events on the Earth's surface tend to occur in this region more frequently than in
        other regions of the Earth? Why do they occur here?
       What do trenches and mountain ranges have to do with the Ring of Fire and plate
        tectonics?

Closing:

Look at this animation of the Earth's plate history
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/geology/anim1.html

to see how the plates and continents moved into their current positions over hundreds of millions
of years.
On the word document containing the answers to your above questions:

Imagine that you are a scientist who has just come up with the theory of Plate Tectonics. List the
supporting evidence for Plate Tectonics that you have found in the Ring of Fire region. Predict
what the Ring of Fire region might look like one hundred million years from now. Write a
paragraph explaining your prediction.


Related Links:
National Earthquake Information Center Geologic Hazards
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html
National Geographic: Fallout—Eye on the Volcano
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/volcanoes/
National Geographic: Forces of Nature http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/
The Ring of Fire http://geography.about.com/cs/earthquakes/a/ringoffire.htm


At the end of class, turn in your word document with your name and class period listed at
the top.