North Pacific Ocean, December 12 (ANI): An earthquake measuring magnitude 6.8 struck in the North Pacific Ocean on Friday morning, according to seismic data from the National Center for Seismology (NCS). The quake occurred at 08:14:15 IST at a depth of approximately 40 km.
In a post on X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 6.8, On: 12/12/2025 08:14:15 IST, Lat: 40.95 N, Long: 142.95 E, Depth: 40 Km, Location: North Pacific Ocean.”
Earlier, on December 9, an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 struck the region at a depth of 80 km. In a post on X, the NCS said, “EQ of M: 6.5, On: 09/12/2025 03:22:48 IST, Lat: 41.13 N, Long: 143.09 E, Depth: 80 Km, Location: North Pacific Ocean.”
The world’s largest earthquake belt, the circum-Pacific seismic belt, lies along the rim of the Pacific Ocean, where about 81 percent of the planet’s largest earthquakes occur. It is commonly referred to as the “Ring of Fire,” according to the USGS.
This seismic belt exists along plate boundaries where oceanic crust is subducting beneath other tectonic plates. Earthquakes in these zones are caused by slipping between plates and ruptures within them. Major earthquakes originating in this region include the magnitude 9.5 Chilean (Valdivia) earthquake of 1960 and the magnitude 9.2 Alaska earthquake of 1964.
Approximately 90 percent of the world’s earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, and about 81 percent of the strongest quakes are recorded in this belt. An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes occur globally each year, of which 100,000 can be felt and around 100 cause damage.
The Pacific Ring of Fire spans about 40,000 km (25,000 miles) in length and up to 500 km (310 miles) in width, encircling most of the Pacific Ocean. Its current structure was shaped by the development of modern subduction zones, beginning about 115 million years ago in South America, North America, and Asia, followed by the creation of subduction zones in Indonesia and New Guinea around 70 million years ago, and later the New Zealand subduction zone approximately 35 million years ago.
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