Geology of the Pacific Northwest debris. Rising above this volcanic platform are a few strikingly large volcanoes that dominate the landscape. The Cascade volcanoes define the Pacific Northwest section of the Ring of Fire, an array of volcanoes that rim the Pacific Ocean. The Ring of Fire is also known for its frequent earthquakes. The volcanoes and earthquakes arise from a common source: subduction. Beneath the Cascade Volcanic Arc, a dense oceanic plate plunges beneath the North American Plate; a process known as subduction. As the oceanic slab sinks deep into the Earth's interior beneath the continental plate, high temperatures and pressures allow water molecules
2010 eruptions of Mount Merapi one of the subsequent eruptive events. The Indonesian National Disaster Mitigation Agency stated at 10:00 on morning of 1 November that 38 people had been killed and 69,533 evacuated since Merapi began erupting on 26 October. The victims came from the district of Sleman, Yogyakarta, where 37 people (including 25 men and 12 women), and 1 baby died. Indonesia's vulcanology agency warned that flights around Yogyakarta may be disrupted. By the afternoon of 5 November the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency was reporting 122 deaths attributable to the Merapi eruptions, primarily residents from Sleman, Daerah Istimewa, Yogyakarta. In the report