is an active
stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...
in the
Shikotsu-Toya National Park,
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
,
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 north ...
. It has erupted four times since 1900: in 1910 (which created Meiji-shinzan
[ 神沼克伊,小山悦郎 ''日本の火山を科学する 日本列島津々浦々、あなたの身近にある108の活火山とは？'' ソフトバンククリエイティブ 2011. .]), 1944–45 (which created
Shōwa-shinzan
is a volcanic lava dome in the Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Hokkaido, Japan, next to Mount Usu. The mountain was created between 28 December 1943 and September 1945.神沼克伊,小山悦郎 ''日本の火山を科学する 日本列島津� ...
), August 7, 1977, and on March 31, 2001. To the north lies
Lake Tōya
is a volcanic caldera lake in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Abuta District, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is part of "Toya Caldera and Usu Volcano Global Geopark" which joins in Global Geoparks Network. The stratovolcano of Mount Usu lies on the souther ...
. Mount Usu formed on the southern rim of the
caldera
A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...
containing the lake.
Mount Usu and Shōwa-shinzan are major tourist attractions in the
Shikotsu-Toya National Park. A ropeway on Mount Usu takes visitors to viewing platforms overlooking Shōwa-shinzan. The 1977 eruption is mentioned in passing in
Alan Booth
Alan Booth (5 December 194624 January 1993)
(''The Independent'', 5 February 1993)
's travelogue,