, also referred to as , is the 14th highest mountain and second highest
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
Japan (after
Mount Fuji
, or Fugaku, located on the island of Honshū, is the highest mountain in Japan, with a summit elevation of . It is the second-highest volcano located on an island in Asia (after Mount Kerinci on the island of Sumatra), and seventh-highes ...
) at . It is included in ''
100 Famous Japanese Mountains''.
Description
Mt. Ontake is located around northeast of
Nagoya
is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most p ...
, and around 200 km (125 mi) west of Tokyo, at the borders of
Kiso and
ÅŒtaki,
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 n ...
, and
Gero,
Gifu Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, 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 ...
. The volcano has five
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 fills ...
s, with at being the highest mountain lake in Japan. Ontake is a major sacred mountain, and following older
shamanistic practices, actors and artists have gone to the mountain to put themselves into trances in order to get divine inspiration for their creative activities.
Eruptions
Ontake was thought to be inactive until October 1979, when it underwent a series of explosive
phreatic eruptions which ejected 200,000 tons of ash, and had a
volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 2.
There were minor non-explosive (VEI 0) phreatic eruptions in 1991 and 2007.
On Saturday, September 27, 2014, at around 11:53 a.m.
Japan Standard Time
, or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to ...
(UTC +9),
the volcano erupted with a VEI of 3.
There were no significant
earthquakes that might have warned authorities in the lead up to the
phreatic eruption—caused by ground water flashing to steam in a
hydrothermal explosion. The Mount Ontake volcano eruption was an extremely rare phenomenon which made it difficult to take precautionary measures. At the time of the eruption, several hiking parties were undertaking ascents and descents of Ontake, with emergency descents having to be undertaken in the presence of ash clouds and falling rocks. 63 people were killed; five bodies were never found. The
Japan Self-Defense Forces
The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of Military, armed f ...
began carrying out helicopter searches for missing people after the eruption.
Gallery
See also
*
100 Famous Japanese Mountains
*
List of mountains in Japan
*
List of Ultras of Japan
*
List of volcanoes in Japan
*
Ontake Prefectural Natural Park
is a Prefectural Natural Park in western Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Established in 1952, the park's central feature is Mount Ontake. The park spans the borders of the municipalities
A municipality is usually a single administrative division ...
*
Three-thousanders (in Japan)
*
OSJ Ontake SkyRace
References
External links
Ontakesan- Japan Meteorological Agency
* - Japan Meteorological Agency
Ontakesan- Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ontake, Mount
Volcanic crater lakes
Mountains of Gifu Prefecture
Mountains of Nagano Prefecture
Sacred mountains of Japan
Volcanoes of Honshū
Volcanoes of Gifu Prefecture
Volcanoes of Nagano Prefecture