Ontake-san Volcano
Updated: May 21, 2024 18:09 GMT -
complex volcano 3063 m / 10,049 ft
Honshu (Japan), 35.89°N / 137.48°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Honshu (Japan), 35.89°N / 137.48°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Last update: 29 Jun 2022 (Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report)
Mt.Ontake, viewed from Kuzo Pass of Route 361 (pictrure: Atsushi Ueda / Wiki Commons)
On-take, or correctly Ontake-san (御嶽山), is a massive stratovolcano and the second highest in Japan. It is located at the southern end of the Northern Japan Alps.
Its first historic eruption occurred in 1979. A landslide in 1984 was not related to an eruption and produced a debris avalanche and lahar running down valleys south and east of the volcano.
On-take volcano is one of the holy mountains of Japan and the destination for religious pilgrimage since 1792.
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Ontake-san volcano eruptions: 27 Sep 2014, 2007, 1979-80, 774 AD
Latest nearby earthquakes
| Time | Mag. / Depth | Distance / Location | |||
| May 18, 11:03 pm (GMT +9) | 2.5 9.8 km | 12 km (7.6 mi) to the W |  Japan: NORTHERN GIFU PREF | Info | |
Background
On-take's summit cone was built in a largely buried 4 x 5 km caldera. It lies at the southern end of the Norikura volcanic zone, which extends northward through Norikura volcano to Yake-dake volcano.The older volcanic complex of Ontake consists of at least 4 major stratovolcanoes that were constructed from about 680,000 to about 420,000 years ago, after which On-take was inactive for more than 300,000 years.
The broad, elongated summit of the younger edifice is cut by a series of small explosion craters along a NNE-trending line. Several phreatic eruptions from On-take post-date the roughly 7300-year-old Akahoya tephra from Kikai caldera.
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Source: On-take volcano information from Smithsonian / GVP
Ontake-san Volcano Photos
View over the active crater of Suwanose-jima volcano, Mt Ontake volcano (view to the NE) (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
View over the crater of Mt Ontake volcano on Suwanose-jima; Nakano-jima island in the background to the NE. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
View of the crest of the island's volcano, Mt Ontake (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
View of Mt Ontake stratovolcano of Nakano-jima volcano, Suwanose-jima's neighbor to the northeast. A gas plume can be seen rising from the summit crater, suggesting the v...
Eruptions of Ontake-san volcano
1979 first historic eruption
Around 5:00 on 28 October 1979 the first historic eruption of On-take volcano occurred from a fissure on the southwestern slope of the main peak, Kengamine.
The eruption produced a tephra column of 1500 meters and there was ashfall in Maebashi City 150 km away. A 30 m diameter crater and 9 small craters on a NW-SE lline were formed above the eruptive fissure.
Around 5:00 on 28 October 1979 the first historic eruption of On-take volcano occurred from a fissure on the southwestern slope of the main peak, Kengamine.
The eruption produced a tephra column of 1500 meters and there was ashfall in Maebashi City 150 km away. A 30 m diameter crater and 9 small craters on a NW-SE lline were formed above the eruptive fissure.
Latest satellite images
