literally, ''"Burning mountain"'' is an 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 ...

in the

Hida Mountains The , or , is a Japanese mountain range which stretches through Nagano, Toyama and Gifu prefectures. A small portion of the mountains also reach into Niigata Prefecture. William Gowland coined the phrase "Japanese Alps" during his time in Japa ...

, lying between

Matsumoto Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

, and Takayama,

Gifu Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Gifu Prefecture has a population of 1,991,390 () and has a geographic area of . Gifu Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to the north; Ishikawa Prefecture to the northwest, ...

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 ...

. It is one of the

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

, reaching at the highest peak.

Geography

Mount Yake is the most active of all the volcanoes in the Hida Mountains. Its two main peaks are the northern and southern peaks, but visitors can only ascend to the northern peak, as the southern peak is currently a restricted area. A

crater lake Crater Lake ( Klamath: ''Giiwas'') is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fill ...

lies between the two peaks. High viscosity

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or ...

flowing from the upper regions of Mount Yake has led to the build up of a lava dome. The heat from the volcano produces many

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

in the surrounding area.

Eruptions

In 1911, 22 minor eruptions were recorded. In 1915, during the Taishō period, however, there was a major eruption. The flow of the lava blocked the Azusa River, which caused the river to form a lake that was named Lake Taishō.Mount Yake Volcano Disaster Prevention
. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Accessed June 30, 2008. The Azusa River is again flowing today, but the lake still remains. In 1962, there was an eruption that killed two people staying at a small hut near the mouth of the volcano. In 1995, a tunnel was being constructed on the Nagano Prefecture side of the mountain, through Mount Akandana, which was thought to be part of Mount Yake. At 2:25pm on February 11, the workers encountered

volcanic gas Volcanic gases are gases given off by active (or, at times, by dormant) volcanoes. These include gases trapped in cavities (vesicles) in volcanic rocks, dissolved or dissociated gases in magma and lava, or gases emanating from lava, from volcani ...

es, which were quickly followed by a

phreatic eruption A phreatic eruption, also called a phreatic explosion, ultravulcanian eruption or steam-blast eruption, occurs when magma heats ground water or surface water. The extreme temperature of the magma (anywhere from ) causes near-instantaneous evap ...

on Mount Yake, leading to the death of four people. Later explorations have shown that Mount Akandana is an independent volcano. There is still an active

fumarole A fumarole (or fumerole) is a vent in the surface of the Earth or other rocky planet from which hot volcanic gases and vapors are emitted, without any accompanying liquids or solids. Fumaroles are characteristic of the late stages of volcani ...

near the mountain's peak. File:Mount Yake from Mount Nishi-Hotake 1995-4-2.jpg, seen from Mount Hotaka File:Volcanic craters from Mount Yake North peak 2002-6-5.jpg,

between the northern and southern peaks File:Mount Yake North peak 2011-07-06.jpg, northern peak and

es File:Sulfur minerals in Mount Yake.jpg,

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

References

External links

Yakedake
- Japan Meteorological Agency * - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan * {{Authority control Yake, Mount Yake, Mount Active volcanoes Yake, Mount Yake, Mount Chūbu-Sangaku National Park Yake Yake

Geography

Eruptions

See also

References

External links