The Circle Of Fire Essays - Lines Of Latitude, Plate Tectonics

The Circle of Fire The secrets of the Circle of Fire lies somewhere deep into the Earths formation about 4.5 - 5 billion years ago. The Circle of Fire is a ring of volcanic mountains that Borders the coasts of North and South America, along with Asia and Thialand. It also forms a semi-cirlce from the southern tip of South America to Australia. The Earth is about 4.5 - 5 billion Years old. Whereas man's recorded history is only about 5000 years old.(Circle of fire page 3) The Earth is made up of 3 different layers 1- The Crust, the Crust is the very top layer of the earth that we live on, it consits of 7 different crustal plates. 2- The mantle which is the middle layer, This is made of a liquid plastic type of material called magma, This material is constantly flowing which causes the crustal plates to shift.3- The Inner Core, this is the very center of the Earth, Scientists aren't positive but they believe that it is solid lava. About 80% of the worlds Earthquakes occur in the Circle of Fire. (The Circle of Fire p. 13) They happen in a narrow belt of faults that run parallel with the equator from North and South America to Asia. In 1950 an Expidition from Scripps Institute of Oceanography while exploring the sea floor off the coast of California discoverd fracture Zones.(Circle of Fire p 17) These fracture zones run parallel with the equator from North and South America to Asia down to Thailand as well. Often these fracture zones are not deep but they run ten to twenty miles wide. And amazingly the run in an almost equal distance of about 400 - 500 miles long. The Circle of Fire is a mysterious place. Though no one knows how it was formed , scientists believe they are close, They also believe that once they uncover its secrets, they will be able to answer many of the unsolved questions of the Earths Formation.