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
Circum-Superior Belt indication of the Circum-Superior Belt is also poorly known; either it contains major regional differences or it is the same throughout the magmatic zone. With the discovery of the Pickle Crow dike swarm throughout the western Superior craton, the likelihood of other 1,880 million year old dike groups throughout the Superior craton remains. This is partly because several dike zones in the Superior craton remain undated. The relationship of the Circum-Superior Belt with similar age magmatism throughout the nearby Trans-Hudson belt and elsewhere on Earth is also unknown. This includes the 1,860 million year old magmatism of the East Kimberly