Shinmoedake () is a

volcano A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure 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 oft ...

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Kyūshū is the third-largest island of Japan's four main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands (i.e. excluding Okinawa and the other Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regio ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and a part of the

Mount Kirishima The are a 1700 meter high active volcano group in Kagoshima Prefecture and Miyazaki Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. Numerous eruptions have been recorded since 742. Very strong eruptions happened in 788, 1716 and 1717. Augite-hypersthene andesite ...

cluster of volcanoes. It is believed to have formed between 7,300 and 25,000 years ago. Eruptions from Shinmoedake have been recorded in 1716, 1717, 1771, 1822, 1959, 1991, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2025. Shinmoedake crater

2011 eruptions

The 2011 eruptions began on 19 January. On 26 January, at 7:30 AM, increased eruption activity spewed ash over the surrounding area. The ash closed four

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

lines, and some airline service was cancelled due to heavy ash in the air. It was the largest eruption from Shinmoedake since 1959. On 27 January, the volcano alert level was raised to 3. On 1 February, an even larger eruption sent a column of smoke up to into the air and threw

volcanic bomb A volcanic bomb or lava bomb is a mass of partially molten rock (tephra) larger than 64 mm (2.5 inches) in diameter, formed when a volcano ejects viscous fragments of lava during an eruption. Because volcanic bombs cool after they l ...

s up to away from the vent. During February 2011, a lava dome formed in Shinmoedake's crater. On February 17, an evacuation advisory was put in place for the Miyakonojo area for 2,500 people after heavy rains threatened to produce

lahar A lahar (, from ) is a violent type of mudflow or debris flow composed of a slurry of Pyroclastic rock, pyroclastic material, rocky debris and water. The material flows down from a volcano, typically along a valley, river valley. Lahars are o ...

s, and at least 63 people evacuated. On 13 March, two days after the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

, the volcano once again erupted. The eruption forced the evacuation of several hundred residents.

2018 eruptions

On 6 March 2018, a large eruption began launching rocks and ash to a height of . On 22 June 2018, another eruption occurred, four days after a 6.1 Mw earthquake struck

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

on 18 June, sending smoke and rocks thousands of meters into the air.

Cultural references

Shinmoedake was used as a location in 1967

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film, '' You Only Live Twice'', as the volcano in which the villains' secret rocket base is located.

References

External links

Kirishimayama
- Japan Meteorological Agency * {{cite web, url= http://www.data.jma.go.jp/svd/vois/data/tokyo/STOCK/souran_eng/volcanoes/087_kirishimayama.pdf , title=Kirishimayama: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan - Japan Meteorological Agency

- Geological Survey of Japan ----
Explosive eruptions observed. January, 2011
- YouTube
Mount Shinmoe Video Archive
- Volcano Video HQ Volcanoes of Kyushu Mountains of Kagoshima Prefecture Volcanic plugs of Asia Volcanoes of Kagoshima Prefecture