Distribution of Earthquakes and Volcanoes

You will notice a line of dots in the central parts of the Atlantic Ocean almost parallel to the coastlines. It further extends into the Indian Ocean.

It bifurcates a little south of the Indian subcontinent with one branch moving into East Africa and the other meeting a similar line from Myanmar to New Guiana.

In general, the foci of the earthquake in the areas of mid-oceanic ridges are at shallow depths whereas along the Alpine-Himalayan belt as well as the rim of the Pacific, the earthquakes are deep-seated ones.

The rim of the Pacific is also called rim of fire due to the existence of active volcanoes in this area.