Describe and give one reason for the global distribution of volcanoes.

Volcanoes are found in various parts of the world, and their global distribution is primarily due to the movement and interaction of tectonic plates. The Earth’s crust is broken into several large plates that move and collide with each other, causing volcanic activity to occur at the boundaries where the plates meet.

One reason for the global distribution of volcanoes is the presence of subduction zones. These are areas where one tectonic plate is forced beneath another, often resulting in the melting of rock due to high pressure and temperature. The molten rock, or magma, then rises to the surface and erupts as a volcano.

Subduction zones are found at various locations around the world, including the Pacific Ring of Fire, a region in the Pacific Ocean characterized by high levels of volcanic and seismic activity. Other locations where subduction zones are present include the Andes Mountains in South America and the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.

In addition to subduction zones, volcanoes can also occur at divergent plate boundaries, where two plates are moving away from each other, or at hotspots, where magma rises from deep within the Earth’s mantle and forms a volcano at the surface.