Ring of Fire volcanic development which surrounds the shores of the Pacific from Tierra del Fuego around to the Moluccas." (Matthew Perry, "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, 1852-54," Introduction, Section I, "Name, Extent, and Geography") About 90% of the world's earthquakes and 81% of the world's largest earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire. The next most seismically active region (5–6% of earthquakes and 17% of the world's largest earthquakes) is the Alpide belt, which extends from Java to the northern Atlantic Ocean via the Himalayas and southern Europe. All but three of the
Circum-Superior Belt remain undated, indicating the existence of magmatic rocks with the same age as those of the Circum-Superior Belt is probable. It contains two large copper-nickel mining districts; the nickel-bearing Thompson Belt at the northwestern portion of the Superior craton and the Cape Smith Belt at the northern portion of the Circum-Superior Belt. The Circum-Superior Belt was formed 1,884 to 1,864 million years ago when the Superior craton was surrounded by mountain building processes, including the Trans-Hudson, New Quebec and Penokean orogenies. The major Trans-Hudson orogeny had its appearance when the Superior craton collided with the Rae-Hearne craton 1,900 to 1,800