The violent (VEI=5) 1980 eruption of
Mount Saint Helens
produced 0.1 cubic miles
(0.5 cubic km) of ash. Photo courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.
Stratovolcanoes are associated with
subduction zones,
areas where
dense oceanic plates are pushed beneath more buoyant continental plates.
The circum-Pacific region, also known as the Ring of Fire, is rimmed by
subduction zones.
