Akan Volcanic Complex
| Akan Volcanic Complex | |
|---|---|
 Mount Meakan, Akan-Fuji and Mount Oakan on a satellite image of Eastern Hokkaido | |
| Highest point | |
| Peak | Mount Meakan |
| Elevation | 1,499 m (4,918 ft) |
| Coordinates | Lua error in Module:Coordinates at line 489: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). |
| Naming | |
| Native name | |
| Geography | |
Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 411: Malformed coordinates value.
| |
| Country | Japan |
| State | Hokkaidō |
| Subprefectures | Kushiro and Tokachi |
| Districts | Ashoro District and Shiranuka District |
| Municipalities | Ashoro, Kushiro and Shiranuka |
| Geology | |
| Orogeny | island arc |
| Rock type | Volcanic |
| Last eruption | November 2008 |
Me-Akan (bottom left)
O-Akan (center right)
Akan Volcanic Complex is a volcanic group of volcanoes that grew out of the Akan caldera.[1] It is located within Akan National Park, about 50 km Northwest of Kushiro in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan.
Description
[edit | edit source]A number of peaks are arranged around the rim of Lake Akan (a.k.a. Akan-ko[2]), which fills a 24×13 km caldera,[3] the tallest being Me-Akan (Meakan), O-Akan (Oakan) and Akan-Fuji.[1]
Oakan is prominently located at the northeast side of the caldera, while Meakan occupies the opposite, southwest side, in a cluster of nine stratovolcanoes that include Akan-Fuji, one of many symmetrical Japanese volcanoes named after the renowned Mount Fuji, and Fuppushi volcano[4] (a.k.a. Fuppushi-dake, not to be confused with Mount Fuppushi, which is located in Southwestern Hokkaido).
Volcanology
[edit | edit source]The Akan caldera was formed 31,500 years ago. Its elongated shape is due to its incremental formation during major explosive eruptions, from the early to the mid-Pleistocene periods.
The Nakamachineshiri crater of Meakan volcano was formed during a major eruption about 13,500 years ago.
The Me-Akan group of nine overlapping cones on the eastern side of Lake Akan has had mild eruptions since the beginning of the 19th century.[5] The last eruption of this historical volcano was in 2008.[3]
Oakan, Meakan, Furebetsu and Fuppushi are the major post-caldera volcanoes of the Akan volcanic complex.[1]
Me-Akan is one of the most active volcanoes of Hokkaido. Its summit contains the active craters of Ponmachineshiri and Naka-Machineshiri, sites of frequent phreatic eruptions in historical time. Akan-Fuji and O-Akan have not erupted in historical time.[4]
Akan is rated with a volcanic explosivity index of 4 on the Smithsonian VEI scale, the scale's fourth-highest score, based on the volcano's largest known eruption, around 7050 BC.[6]
Following are prominent features of Akan:[7]
Cones
[edit | edit source]- Me-Akan-Dake (Mount Meakan) (1499 m) Stratovolcano
- Akan Fuji (Akan-Fuji, Akan-Huji) (1476 m) Stratovolcano
- Kita-Yama (1400 m) Cone
- O-Akan-Dake (Mount Oakan) (1371 m) Stratovolcano
- Kenga-Mine Cone 1336 m
- Nishi-Yama (Nisi-Yama) (1300 m) Cone
- Fuppushi (Huppusi) (1226 m) Stratovolcano
- Miname-Dake (1217 m) Stratovolcano
- Higashi-Dake (Higasi-Dake) (1140 m) Cone
- Furebetsu (Hurebetu) (1098 m) Stratovolcano
- Kobu-Yama Cone
- Futatsu-Dake Pyroclastic cone
Craters
[edit | edit source]- Nakamachineshiri (Nakamatineshiri) Crater
- Ponmachineshiri (Ponmatinesiri) Crater
Thermal features
[edit | edit source]- Akan-Kohan Thermal Feature
Other peaks
[edit | edit source]- Mount Ken[citation needed]
- Mount Ahoro[citation needed]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]
- Akan Caldera - Geological Survey of Japan