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In this Thursday, October 12, 2017, photo, volcanic smoke rises from the Shinmoedake volcano after its eruption in the border of Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures, southwestern Japan. The horse shoe shaped string of active volcanos bounding the Pacific Ocean has lived up to its “Ring of Fire” calling card in the past month, sparking mass evacuations in Indonesia and Vanuatu and now setting parts of south-western Japan on edge. The 450 or so volcanos that make up the Ring of Fire are an outline of where the massive Pacific Plate is grinding against other plates that make up the earth's crust, creating a 40,000 kilometer-long (25,000 mile) zone prone to frequent earthquakes and eruptions. (Photo by Tomoaki Ito/Kyodo News via AP Photo)
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