Oshima Volcano

Updated: Jun 15, 2025 14:24 GMT - refresh

stratovolcano

Izu Islands, Japan, 34.72°N / 139.4°E

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Summit height: 764 m / 2,507 ft

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

Izu-Oshima volcano, 伊豆大島 Izu-ōshima) is the northernmost of the Izu islands of Japan, and one of the world's most active volcanoes. It is a mostly submerged stratovolcano that forms an 11 x 13 km island.
Oshima erupts very frequently, on average every 1-3 years, but has been quiet since 1990, which is an unusual long interval compared to its activity in historic times.
Eruptions at Oshima volcano occur from both summit and flank vents and its lavas are relatively fluid. The eruptions often produce lava fountains, strombolian activity, lava flows and the formation of lava lakes.

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News/Updates | Earthquakes | Images

Typical eruption style: strombolian, effusive
Oshima volcano eruptions: 1990, 1987-88, 1986, 1974, 1971, 1970, 1970, 1969, 1968, 1968, 1967, 1965-66, 1962-65, 1961(?), 1959-60, 1959, 1958, 1957, 1956, 1956(?), 1953-54, 1950-51, 1940, 1939, 1939, 1938, 1937, 1935, 1934, 1934(?), 1933, 1928, 1922-23, 1920(?), 1919, 1915, 1914, 1912-13, 1910, 1876-77, 1870, 1868?, 1846, 1837-38, 1827, 1822-24, 1803, 1792, 1789, 1783-86, 1777-79, 1695, 1684-90, 1636-38, 1612-13, 1600-01, 1588, 1552, 1527, 1442, 1421, 1416, 1415, 1338, 1267, 1112, 936, 886, 854(?), 751, 684(?), 681(?), 680(?), 654, 630, 605

Latest nearby earthquakes

Date and Time	Mag / Depth	Distance / Location
Jun 15, 10:20 pm (GMT +9)	1.9 12 km	19 km (12 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 46 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Jun 15, 08:32 pm (GMT +9)	1.3 7 km	19 km (12 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 46 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Jun 15, 07:02 pm (GMT +9)	2.1 12 km	20 km (12 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 44 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Jun 15, 09:22 am (GMT +9)	2.3 15 km	20 km (12 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 46 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Saturday, June 14, 2025 GMT (3 quakes)
Jun 15, 01:04 am (GMT +9)	0.8 14 km	18 km (11 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 44 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Jun 14, 05:52 pm (GMT +9)	1.5 13 km	17 km (10.7 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 45 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Jun 14, 05:01 pm (GMT +9)	1.3 13 km	17 km (10.5 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, Tokyo, 45 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan	Info
Tuesday, June 10, 2025 GMT (1 quake)
Jun 10, 08:33 pm (GMT +9)	3.2 14 km	19 km (12 mi) to the S	North Pacific Ocean, 45 km east of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan I FELT IT	Info
Sunday, June 8, 2025 GMT (2 quakes)
Jun 9, 05:28 am (GMT +9)	2.6 12 km	28 km (18 mi) to the SW	North Pacific Ocean, 31 km southeast of Shimoda, Shizuoka, Japan I FELT IT	Info

View recent quakes

Background

from Smithsonian / GVP volcano information:
Oshima volcano in Sagami Bay, east of the Izu Peninsula, is the northernmost of the Izu Islands. The broad, low stratovolcano forms an 11 x 13 km island and was constructed over the remnants of three dissected stratovolcanoes.
It is capped by a 4-km-wide caldera with a central cone, Mihara-yama, that has been the site of numerous historical eruptions. More than 40 parasitic cones are located within the caldera and along two parallel rift zones trending NNW-SSE. Although Oshima is a dominantly basaltic volcano, strong explosive activity has occurred at intervals of 100-150 years throughout the past few thousand years. Historical activity at Oshima dates back to the 7th century AD.

Oshima Volcano Photos

View of Sakurajima from Kagoshima city (Photo: Ivana Dorn)

Small ash puff on the afternoon of 19 July, seen from Kagoshima Bay. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)

More photos

Significant volcanic eruptions: Oshima volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Oshima has had at least 99 confirmed volcanic eruptions, out of which 63 are documented by historical records, while the others can be inferred from geological evidence.
Additionally, there are 9 uncertain or discredited eruptions from Oshima volcano.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Oshima volcano since around 1900. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Oshima can be found on the news page of Oshima volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths
1990 Oct 4	Mihara-yama (1987 summit crater) Historical obs./docs.	2
1987 Nov 16 - 1988 Jan 27	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	2
1986 Nov 15 - Dec 18	Mihara-yama, N part and NW of caldera Historical obs./docs.	3
1986 Nov 15 (eruption 1986 Nov 15 - Dec 18)	Historical obs./docs.	3	1	Info
1986 Nov 15: A 74-year-old man died of a heart attack while being evacuated by ship from the island, on eruption's first day. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1974 Feb 28 - Jun 20	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1971 Apr 5	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1970 Jun 30 - Nov 12	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1970 Jan 26 - Jan 31	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1969 Jan 19 - Jul 16 ±15 d.	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1968 Jul 28	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1968 Jan 19	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1967 May 16 ±15 d. - Aug 16 ±15 d.	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1965 Nov 25 - 1966 Jun 13	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1962 Jan 16 ±15 d. - 1965 May 16 ±15 d.	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
?? 1961 Jul 2 ±182 d.	Uncertain Eruption	?
1959 Oct 16 ±15 d. - 1960 Nov 16 ±15 d.	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1959 Jan 16 ±15 d.	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1958 Apr 17 - Jun 13	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1957 Aug 16 ±15 d. - Dec 16 ±15 d.	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1957 Oct 13 (eruption 1957 Aug 16 ±15 d. - Dec 16 ±15 d.)	Historical obs./docs.	2	1	Info
1957 Oct 13: One tourist killed and 53 injured by explosion. (reference #9675) The eruption killed 1 sightseer and caused slight injuries to 53 sightseers. (reference #12936) Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. #9675 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Fatalities & Evacuations, Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., p. 329-347. #12936 Japan Meteorological Agency and Volcanological Society of Japan (2013): National Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes in Japan (fourth edition, English version). Japan Meteorological Agency. [accessed May 20, 2021] Link Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
?? 1956 Aug 25 - Aug 26	Uncertain Eruption	1?
1956 Jan 3 - Jan 6	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1953 Oct 5 - 1954 Feb 8	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1953 Oct 5 (eruption 1953 Oct 5 - 1954 Feb 8)	Historical obs./docs.	1	1	Info
1953 Oct 5: 1 death. Cause not listed. Cited references #1412 Simkin, Tom, and Lee Siebert with the collaboration of Russell Blong, Jonathan Dehn, Christopher Newhall, Roland Pool, and Thomas C. Stein (1994): Volcanoes of the World, Second Edition, A Regional Directory, Gazetteer, and Chronology of Volcanism During the Last 10,000 Years, Geoscience Press, Inc., Tucson, Arizona, in association with Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program, Washington, D.C., p. 164-176. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1950 Jul 16 - 1951 Jun 28	Mihara-yama, south rim Historical obs./docs.	2
1940 Aug 18 - Aug 19	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1939 Sep 1 - Sep 16	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1939 Feb	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1?
1938 Aug 11	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1937 Jul 17 - Aug	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	0
1935 Apr 26 - May 6 ?	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	0
?? 1934 Sep	Uncertain Eruption	?
1934 Apr 15 - Apr 25 ?	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	0
1933 Oct 14 - Nov	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	0
1928 Aug 7 - Aug 8	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	2
1922 Dec 8 - 1923 Jan 30	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1919 May 18 - Dec 23	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	0
?? 1920	Uncertain Eruption	?
1915 Oct 10 - Oct 25 ?	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	2
1914 May 15 - May 26	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	2
1912 Feb 23 - 1913 Jan 25	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1
1910 Dec	Mihara-yama Historical obs./docs.	1

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

Eruptions of Oshima volcano

1968 eruption & lava fountains
A major eruption from Izu-Oshima volcano in 1986 produced spectacular lava fountains up to 1600 m height and a 16-km-high subplinian eruption column. More than 12,000 persons were evacuated from the island.
Tall lava fountains:
The 1968 Oshima lava fountain is the second highest ever (photographically) recorded lava fountain from a volcano. The highest is the 1500-2000 m tall lava fountain from the Voragine on Etna volcano on 4 September 1999, the third the 1000-1200 m tall lava fountain from Etna's SE crater during the paroxysm on 23 May 2000.
For comparison, the tallest lava fountains observed on Hawaii were about 590 m tall from Kilauea Iki on 21 November 1959. The specacular lava fountains from Pu'u O'o during 1983-85 reached up to 500 m.

Oshima Volcano FAQ

+When was the last eruption of Oshima volcano?

The last confirmed eruption of Oshima occurred in 1990.

+How often does Oshima volcano erupt?

Since 654 AD, Oshima volcano has had at least 63 historically documented eruptions. This means that it erupts on average every 21.8 years.
Many eruptions of Oshima have lasted more than one year. In total, the volcano has been in eruption during 88 out of 1371 years until now. In other words, Oshima has been active at least one in 15.6 years on average. Note that this value is likely an underestimate, because the known history of eruptions from Oshima is likely incomplete, especially further back in time.

+How active is Oshima volcano at present?

Oshima volcano is very active: Since 1900, it has had 40 eruptions, and been active during 40 years out of 126 as of now. This means, Oshima has been in eruption one in 3.2 years on average. The last eruption was in 1990 and ended 35 years ago.

+When was the largest eruption of Oshima volcano?

The largest eruption of Oshima volcano in historic times occurred in 1421 AD. It ranks as a sub-plinian eruption with a magnitude 4 on the VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale.

Latest satellite images

See also: Sentinel hub | Landsat 8 | NASA FIRMS

Latest satellite images

Oshima 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).