| YouTube: | https://youtube.com/watch?v=gCnbYzYZRjg |
| Previous: | Volcanoes Explained: Crash Course Geology #13 |
| Next: | Earthquakes Explained: Crash Course Geology #14 |
Categories
Statistics
| View count: | 470 |
| Likes: | 50 |
| Comments: | 0 |
| Duration: | 01:06 |
| Uploaded: | 2026-08-04 |
| Last sync: | 2026-08-04 16:15 |
Citation
| Citation formatting is not guaranteed to be accurate. | |
| MLA Full: | "The Ring of Fire." YouTube, uploaded by CrashCourse, 4 August 2026, www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCnbYzYZRjg. |
| MLA Inline: | (CrashCourse, 2026) |
| APA Full: | CrashCourse. (2026, August 4). The Ring of Fire [Video]. YouTube. https://youtube.com/watch?v=gCnbYzYZRjg |
| APA Inline: | (CrashCourse, 2026) |
| Chicago Full: |
CrashCourse, "The Ring of Fire.", August 4, 2026, YouTube, 01:06, https://youtube.com/watch?v=gCnbYzYZRjg. |
Almost all the planet’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions happen in one place: the Ring of Fire! Nearly the whole Pacific Ocean is bordered by
this treacherous region where some of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. But why? What makes the Ring of Fire so… fiery? Check out Crash Course Geology to learn more!
***
Support us for $5/month on Patreon to keep Crash Course free for everyone forever! https://www.patreon.com/crashcourse
Or support us directly: https://complexly.com/support
Join our Crash Course email list to get the latest news and highlights: https://mailchi.mp/crashcourse/email
Get our special Crash Course Educators newsletter: http://eepurl.com/iBgMhY
Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever:
b.sav, Martin G. Diller, Scezumin, Johnathan Williams, Mike Cumings, Jr., Allison Wood, NassauLinda, Chuck Smith, Katrix , Jason Terpstra, Jennifer Wiggins-Lyndall, Dalton Williams, DexcilaDou, Chelsea S, Matthew Fredericksen, AThirstyPhilosopher ., Scezumin, AThirstyPhilosopher ., Emily Beazley, Andrew Woods, DexcilaDou, Roger Harms, UwU, Johnathan Williams, Kyle & Katherine Callahan, Stephen Akuffo, Jennifer Wiggins-Lyndall, Shruti S, Barbara Pettersen, Gina Mancuso, Dalton Williams, Toni Miles, Mike Cumings, Jr., Quinn Harden, Michael Maher, Jason Terpstra, Matthew Fredericksen, Rie Ohta, Chuck Smith, Allison Wood, David Fanska, Katrix , Chelsea S, b.sav, Brandon Thomas, Steve Segreto, Elizabeth LaBelle, Reed Spilmann, Leah H., NassauLinda, Kevin Knupp, Martin G. Diller, Ken Davidian, oranjeez, Laurel Stevens, Jason Buster, Alan Bridgeman, Samantha, Jason Rostoker, Breanna Bosso, Caleb Weeks, Joseph Ruf, Ken Penttinen, Luke Sluder, Wai Jack Sin, Siobhán, Krystle Young, Matt Curls, Stephen McCandless, Eric Koslow, John Lee, Tandy Ratliff, Perry Joyce, Sarah & Nathan Catchings, Rizwan Kassim, Katie Dean, Ian Dundore, team dorsey, Erminio Di Lodovico, Barrett, Trevin Beattie, Bernardo Garza, Kristina D Knight, Nathan Taylor, Emily T, Constance Urist, Jennifer Killen, Thomas, Alex Hackman, Triad Terrace, Indija-ka, Evol Hong, Scott Harrison, Pietro Gagliardi, Les Aker, Tanner Hedrick
__
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecrashcourse/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/thecrashcourse.bsky.social
CC Kids: http://www.youtube.com/crashcoursekids
this treacherous region where some of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. But why? What makes the Ring of Fire so… fiery? Check out Crash Course Geology to learn more!
***
Support us for $5/month on Patreon to keep Crash Course free for everyone forever! https://www.patreon.com/crashcourse
Or support us directly: https://complexly.com/support
Join our Crash Course email list to get the latest news and highlights: https://mailchi.mp/crashcourse/email
Get our special Crash Course Educators newsletter: http://eepurl.com/iBgMhY
Thanks to the following patrons for their generous monthly contributions that help keep Crash Course free for everyone forever:
b.sav, Martin G. Diller, Scezumin, Johnathan Williams, Mike Cumings, Jr., Allison Wood, NassauLinda, Chuck Smith, Katrix , Jason Terpstra, Jennifer Wiggins-Lyndall, Dalton Williams, DexcilaDou, Chelsea S, Matthew Fredericksen, AThirstyPhilosopher ., Scezumin, AThirstyPhilosopher ., Emily Beazley, Andrew Woods, DexcilaDou, Roger Harms, UwU, Johnathan Williams, Kyle & Katherine Callahan, Stephen Akuffo, Jennifer Wiggins-Lyndall, Shruti S, Barbara Pettersen, Gina Mancuso, Dalton Williams, Toni Miles, Mike Cumings, Jr., Quinn Harden, Michael Maher, Jason Terpstra, Matthew Fredericksen, Rie Ohta, Chuck Smith, Allison Wood, David Fanska, Katrix , Chelsea S, b.sav, Brandon Thomas, Steve Segreto, Elizabeth LaBelle, Reed Spilmann, Leah H., NassauLinda, Kevin Knupp, Martin G. Diller, Ken Davidian, oranjeez, Laurel Stevens, Jason Buster, Alan Bridgeman, Samantha, Jason Rostoker, Breanna Bosso, Caleb Weeks, Joseph Ruf, Ken Penttinen, Luke Sluder, Wai Jack Sin, Siobhán, Krystle Young, Matt Curls, Stephen McCandless, Eric Koslow, John Lee, Tandy Ratliff, Perry Joyce, Sarah & Nathan Catchings, Rizwan Kassim, Katie Dean, Ian Dundore, team dorsey, Erminio Di Lodovico, Barrett, Trevin Beattie, Bernardo Garza, Kristina D Knight, Nathan Taylor, Emily T, Constance Urist, Jennifer Killen, Thomas, Alex Hackman, Triad Terrace, Indija-ka, Evol Hong, Scott Harrison, Pietro Gagliardi, Les Aker, Tanner Hedrick
__
Want to find Crash Course elsewhere on the internet?
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thecrashcourse/
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/YouTubeCrashCourse
Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/thecrashcourse.bsky.social
CC Kids: http://www.youtube.com/crashcoursekids
Sage: Why do almost all planets, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions happen right here?
This is the Ring of Fire. Nearly the whole Pacific Ocean is bordered by this treacherous region.
We're talking the sites of some of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. Massive volcanoes in Indonesia, Russia, and even Antarctica. Huge explosions and fractures that happened on land and underwater.
Why? Because of plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics is the process where giant slabs of Earth's uppermost layer move around, pulling apart, sliding past, and crashing into each other.
And in particular, the Ring of Fire is home to lots of subduction zones, areas where tectonic plates get forced underneath one another, returning a bunch of materials to the Earth's mantle.
The plate releases water into the hot rocks above, causing them to melt and driving tons of volcanic activity.
And if two dense oceanic plates converge or smush together, subduction can create huge depressions in the surface, like the Ring of Fire's Mariana Trench, which contains the deepest point in the world.
To learn more, check out Crash Course Geology.
This is the Ring of Fire. Nearly the whole Pacific Ocean is bordered by this treacherous region.
We're talking the sites of some of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded. Massive volcanoes in Indonesia, Russia, and even Antarctica. Huge explosions and fractures that happened on land and underwater.
Why? Because of plate tectonics.
Plate tectonics is the process where giant slabs of Earth's uppermost layer move around, pulling apart, sliding past, and crashing into each other.
And in particular, the Ring of Fire is home to lots of subduction zones, areas where tectonic plates get forced underneath one another, returning a bunch of materials to the Earth's mantle.
The plate releases water into the hot rocks above, causing them to melt and driving tons of volcanic activity.
And if two dense oceanic plates converge or smush together, subduction can create huge depressions in the surface, like the Ring of Fire's Mariana Trench, which contains the deepest point in the world.
To learn more, check out Crash Course Geology.







