are a 1700 meter high active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...

group in

Kagoshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,599,779 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 9,187 km2 (3,547 sq mi). Kagoshima Prefecture borders Kumamoto P ...

and

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Ku ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surround ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. Numerous eruptions have been recorded since 742. Very strong eruptions happened in 788, 1716 and

1717 Events January–March * January 1 – Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to the Kingdom of Great Britain, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart. * J ...

Augite Augite is a common rock-forming pyroxene mineral with formula . The crystals are monoclinic and prismatic. Augite has two prominent cleavages, meeting at angles near 90 degrees. Characteristics Augite is a solid solution in the pyroxene group ...

hypersthene Hypersthene is a common rock-forming inosilicate mineral belonging to the group of orthorhombic pyroxenes. Its chemical formula is . It is found in igneous and some metamorphic rocks as well as in stony and iron meteorites. Many references have f ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predo ...

is the dominant rock type. The highest peak is (1700 m). Its name literally means "Korea Peak"; it was once believed to be so high that the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic ...

could be seen from its summit. Other peaks include the sacred an
often fabled in national foundation mythology
(1573 m) as well as , both active volcanoes. They are part of Kirishima-Yaku National Park near Kirishima City. Legend via oldest extant texts state the summit of Takachiho was stuck the mysterious spear Ama-no-Sakahoko, by the legendary

Ninigi-no-Mikoto is a deity in Japanese mythology. Grandson of the sun goddess Amaterasu, Ninigi is regarded according to Japanese mythology as the great-grandfather of Japan’s first emperor, Emperor Jimmu. The three sacred treasures brought with Ninigi fro ...

. Mount Kirishima is considered one of the

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan!
. Japa ...

. The area is often foggy, and it is believed that the name Kirishima comes from the mountain looking like an island in the fog. The ''Kongō''-class battlecruiser ''Kirishima'' of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

, and the ''Kongō''-class guided missile

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed ...

''Kirishima'' of the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJ ...

were both named after this mountain. Shinmoedake is the most active of the Mount Kirishima volcanoes, having erupted in January 2011, March 2011, October 2017, and April 2018. The region as well as areas downstream is in the path of expanding

Meiyu front The ''meiyu'' front, also known as ''baiu'' front, is a persistent nearly stationary weak baroclinic zone in the lower troposphere. It is located over the east coast of China and Taiwan at its western end, and over the Pacific Ocean south of Japa ...

from the continent, during the

East Asian rainy season The East Asian rainy season (), also called the plum rain, is caused by precipitation along a persistent stationary front known as the Meiyu front for nearly two months during the late spring and early summer in East Asia between mainland Chi ...

, potentially unleashing flash flooding and

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of environmen ...

s during this time. File:Kirishima_Takachihonomine_2.jpg, Takachihonomine Volcano File:Kirishima volcano 20111125.jpg, Kirishima Volcano Group File:1998 shinmoe takachiho.jpg, Shinmoedake Volcano (front) & Takachihonomine Volcano File:Kirishima Ohachi.jpg, Ohachi Volcano File:Koshikidake Rokkannonmiike.jpg, Rokkan'nonmiike Volcano (front) & Koshikidake Volcano (background) File:1998-12 Ohnami-ike.JPG, Onamiike Volcano File:Kirishima Karakunidake 2.jpg, Karakunidake Volcano File:Fudōike 2008-09-27.jpg, Hudouike Volcano File:Hinamoridake Miyazaki.jpg, Hinamoridake Volcano File:Kurinodake Kagoshima.jpg, Kurinodake Volcano

References

External links

Kirishimayama
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan *

- The Kirishima Geopark Council *

** {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirishima, Mount Mountains of Kagoshima Prefecture Volcanoes of Kagoshima Prefecture VEI-7 volcanoes Shield volcanoes Stratovolcanoes of Japan

See also

References

External links