The sixth strongest earthquake ever recorded struck Russia’s far east Kamchatka Peninsula on July 29 and has seemingly triggered a string of nearby volcanoes.

According to the United States Geological Survey, it’s not uncommon for large earthquakes to cause volcanic activity, though volcanoes will only erupt if they were already close to erupting on their own. Depending on its magnitude, the earthquake must also occur within a certain distance from the volcano.

Klyuchevskaya, one of the highest volcanoes in the world, was the first to blow on July 30. It had already shown signs of activity before the magnitude 8.8 earthquake, which possibly strengthened the eruption but didn’t outright cause it, according to experts cited by Live Science .

“A descent of burning hot lava is obser

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