Sakurajima Volcano

Sakurajima Volcano Latest News

Recently, the Sakurajima volcano has erupted, sending huge plumes of ash billowing kilometres into the sky.

About Sakurajima Volcano

• Location: It is located on the southern tip of Kyushu island near the city of Kagoshima, Japan.
• It is one of Japan’s most active volcanoes and eruptions of varying levels take place on a regular basis.
• Sakurajima is a stratovolcano formed from layers of lava and ash.
• It is situated on a convergent plate margin.
• It is an andesitic volcano (meaning it has a high gas content and is very viscous) located at the southern edge of the Aira caldera.
• It is formed by the central cones of the Kitadake (northern peak) and the Minamidake (southern peak).
• Sakura-jima formed an island until 1914, when an explosive eruption produced enough material to join the island to the peninsula on the east.

Key Facts about Stratovolcanoes

• These are also known as composite volcanoes which are tall, steep, and cone-shaped types of volcanoes.
• Unlike flat shield volcanoes, they have higher peaks.
• They are built of successive layers of ash and lava.
• The magma (molten rock) within the volcano is viscous and often contains trapped gas, causing explosive eruptions. 
• Stratovolcanoes occur at the margins of tectonic plates, large sections of Earth’s crust that move together. 
• The continental plates, composed of less dense material, override the oceanic plates.
• Magma generated from the subducting plate rises and squeezes into cracks, eventually reaching the surface in a volcanic eruption.
• They comprise the largest percentage (~60%) of the Earth’s individual volcanoes.

Source: TH

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