Show r VOLCANOES some facan about vant to jhb interior fire bons eons ago the earth on which we live was a huge mass of fin mist astronomers tell us that today in tha heavens we can see vast nebulae sus what tho earth was once gradually the surface of the fire mist cooled and but the interior Is still intensely hot whether it Is eolla liquid or viscous we do not know this heat raging miles below tho surface at times escapes through the hard crust by vents or volca now there are from to volcanoes i on the globe this estimate includes merely live volcanoes which within recent times have been in action it we should count the many mountains scattered over the earth which show today of volcanic action in more remote past the estimate would have to be increased by many hundreds volcanoes would seem to be arranged with more or less symmetry in belts circling the great oceans A ring of fire surrounds the pacific starting at the south shetland islands several hundred miles south of cape horn a belt of volcanoes extends up the west coast of south america central america and north america from alaska it crosses the pacific along the aleutian islands to thence it follows the cast edge of the pacific through the aurile islands japan formosa the philippines the the solomon islands the north hebrides new zealand and finally enda in mounts terror and erebus on the antarctic continents geographic magazine |