Ontake-san Volcano

Updated: Dec 7, 2024 20:17 GMT - refresh

complex volcano 3063 m / 10,049 ft
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 webcams / live data | News/Updates | Earthquakes | Images

Typical eruption style: explosive
Ontake-san volcano eruptions: 27 Sep 2014, 2007, 1979-80, 774 AD

Latest nearby earthquakes

Time	Mag. / Depth	Distance / Location
Dec 7, 05:57 pm (GMT +9)	1.2 4.7 km		Japan: WESTERN NAGANO PREF	Info
Friday, December 6, 2024 GMT (1 quake)
Dec 6, 07:05 pm (GMT +9)	1.1 7.8 km		Japan: WESTERN NAGANO PREF	Info
Tuesday, December 3, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
Dec 4, 07:29 am (GMT +9)	1.3 7.5 km	16 km (10.1 mi) to the E	WESTERN NAGANO PREF	Info
Dec 4, 01:22 am (GMT +9)	1.4 4.4 km	25 km (15 mi) to the E	Japan: WESTERN NAGANO PREF	Info
Tuesday, November 26, 2024 GMT (2 quakes)
Nov 26, 08:26 pm (GMT +9)	1.9 7.2 km	20 km (13 mi) to the NE	Japan: WESTERN NAGANO PREF	Info
Nov 26, 07:53 pm (GMT +9)	1.3 8.6 km	27 km (17 mi) to the E	Japan: SOUTHERN NAGANO PREF	Info

View recent quakes

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...

More photos

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.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Ontake-san 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).