Nantai Volcano

Updated: Nov 29, 2025 17:45 GMT - refresh

stratovolcano

Honshu (Japan), 36.76°N / 139.49°E

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Summit height: 2486 m / 8,156 ft

Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Nantai (or Nantaisan) stratovolcano is located north of Lake Chuzenji in Nikko National Park, Honshu, and close to the famous temple complex at Nikko.
Lake Chuzenji was formed by eruptions of Nantai volcano which produced lava flows that blocked the Daiya River. The dramatic Kegon waterfall plunges over this natural barrier.

Recently, it has been discovered, that the youngest activity of Nantai volcano was only about 7000 years ago, when a phreatomagmatic eruption occurred in the summit crater. The new date was made by C14 dating of charred wood found in the corresponding explosion deposit.
This means that Nantai volcano needs to be classified as active, and is a potential hazard to the many tourist areas nearby.

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News/Updates | Earthquakes

Typical eruption style: explosive
Nantai volcano eruptions: around 7,000 years ago (Yudonoyama Tephra)
12-13,000 years ago (Bentengawara pyroclastic-flow deposit)

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location
Nov 29, 10:12 pm (GMT +9)	0.4 7.6 km	18 km (11 mi) to the S	42 km west of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Nov 29, 07:16 pm (GMT +9)	0.9 3.5 km	8.3 km (5.2 mi) to the S	13 km southwest of Nikko, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Friday, November 28, 2025 GMT (5 quakes)
Nov 29, 03:40 am (GMT +9)	0.1 4.7 km	16 km (9.8 mi) to the S	39 km west of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Nov 28, 08:24 pm (GMT +9)	0.8 4.5 km	28 km (17 mi) to the NE	43 km north of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Nov 28, 08:00 pm (GMT +9)	0.5 5.2 km	28 km (17 mi) to the NE	43 km north of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Nov 28, 07:55 pm (GMT +9)	1.1 5.9 km	28 km (17 mi) to the NE	44 km north of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Nov 28, 07:19 pm (GMT +9)	0.6 4.4 km	29 km (18 mi) to the NE	44 km north of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Thursday, November 27, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Nov 27, 06:14 pm (GMT +9)	1.3 6.1 km	28 km (17 mi) to the NE	43 km north of Utsunomiya, Tochigi, Japan	Info
Wednesday, November 26, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Nov 26, 03:17 pm (GMT +9)	1.7 9 km	27 km (17 mi) to the NW	Fukushima, 34 km northwest of Nikko, Tochigi, Japan	Info

View recent quakes

Background

Nantai volcano has an asymmetrical profile when viewed from the west. This is the result of late-stage collapse of the north side of the volcano. 2 major late-stage eruptions ejected large amounts of scoriae, followed by the emission of pyroclastic flows.
The latest effusive activity of Nantai produced the Osawa lava flow, a thick, viscous dacitic flow that traveled from the breached crater down the north flank.
Until recently (and still as such in the GVP database), the Bentengawara pyroclastic-flow deposit has been thought to represent the latest known eruptive activity was radiocarbon dated at about 10,000 years BP, following a quiescent period of about 3000 years.
Recently, it has been discovered that there was activity about 7000 years ago as well:
After the 15-14 cal ka BP eruption, the summit crater was filled by a lake in which a water-chilled volcanic and tuff breccias and the overlying lacustrine deposit were emplaced. The 14C age of ∼ 8 cal ka BP obtained from a wood fragment ... defines the initiation of the deposition of NLD1 in the crater lake. The crater lake dried up before 7 cal ka BP, following which a phreatomagmatic eruption occurred in the summit cater, forming Nantai-Yudonoyama Tephra (NYT). NYT is the latest recognized eruption product of Nantai volcano, and it underlies the second lacustrine deposit (Nantai Lacustrine Deposit 2) formed in the renewed crater lake. The young age of 7 cal ka BP obtained from the two charred wood stumps in NYT highlights that Nantai is an active volcano.

Source:
Yasuo ISHIZAKI, Teruki OIKAWA and Yuko OKAMURA: “AMS 14C dating of lacustrine and pyroclastic deposits in summit crater of Nantai volcano, NE Japan: Evidence of Holocene eruption”. Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences, Vol. 105, 215-227 (2010)

Significant volcanic eruptions: Nantai volcano

No historic eruptions are known from Nantai volcano, but at least one eruption around 9540 BC can be inferred from geological evidence.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Nantai volcano in historic times and during the past 10,000 years. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Nantai can be found on the news page of Nantai volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths	Damage
9540 ±500 y. BC		?

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

Nantai Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Nantai volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Nantai occurred around 9540 BC.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Nantai Volcano Maps

Below is a selection of maps showing the location and surroundings of the volcano at various resolutions based on aerial-imagery / terrain maps. Feel free to use them for non-commercial purposes on your blog or website as long as you credit them with a link back to this page (click to copy it).