The Ring of Fire sounds like it was plucked from a Tolkein novel, but it actually refers to a 40,000 km (24,855 miles) long tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes that stretches around the Pacific Ocean. Along the Ring of Fire is El Salvador (Globle answer for January 12), the smallest country in Central America, but one that is home to twenty volcanoes, many of which that are active or potentially active. These volcanoes have also created many lakes enclosed by volcanic craters. El Salvador is sometimes referred to as the Land of Volcanoes, for all the earthquakes and volcanic activity it sees. For a country that is smaller than the state of Massachusetts, twenty volcanoes is a lot!

Volcanoes, usually found in mountains, are openings in the earth’s surface that allow gas, hot magma and ash to escape from beneath the crust. They do not have to occur on land, however - volcanoes exist deep in the ocean and under ice caps as well! The word volcano comes from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. Many of the volcanoes in El Salvador can be visited through hikes, including Santa Ana, Izaldo, and San Salvador. Volcanoes are central to El Salvador’s national identity, and the country’s flag depicts five volcanoes rising out of the ocean. These represent the five states of the United Provinces of Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

Learn more: Britannica, Wikipedia, Smithsonian Institution, Britannica: Izalco Volcano, NASA Earth Observatory.

Monday, January 6 to Sunday, January 12.

The following are the shortest paths from last week:

Play Forgeous for Jan 13