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Suwanosejima

Stratovolcano · Japan · 796m

A plume rises above Ontake, the summit crater of Suwanosejima. The 8-km-long island consists of a stratovolcano with two historically active summit craters. The dipping scarp at the top of the image opens towards the sea on the E flank and formed by edifice collapse. This is one of Japan's most frequently active volcanoes and has been in a state of intermittent Strombolian activity since 1949.
A plume rises above Ontake, the summit crater of Suwanosejima. The 8-km-long island consists of a stratovolcano with two historically active summit craters. The dipping scarp at the top of the image opens towards the sea on the E flank and formed by edifice collapse. This is one of Japan's most frequently active volcanoes and has been in a state of intermittent Strombolian activity since 1949. · Photo: Photo by Yukio Hayakawa, 1998 (Gunma University). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Stratovolcano
Country
Japan
Region
Western Pacific Volcanic Regions / Ryukyu Volcanic Arc
Elevation
796m
Coordinates
29.638, 129.714
Last eruption
2026
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Composite
Major rock type
Andesite / Basaltic Andesite
Geological summary

The 8-km-long island of Suwanosejima in the northern Ryukyu Islands consists of an andesitic stratovolcano with two active summit craters. The summit is truncated by a large breached crater extending to the sea on the E flank that was formed by edifice collapse. One of Japan's most frequently active volcanoes, it was in a state of intermittent Strombolian activity from Otake, the NE summit crater, between 1949 and 1996, after which periods of inactivity lengthened. The largest recorded eruption took place in 1813-14, when thick scoria deposits covered residential areas, and the SW crater produced two lava flows that reached the western coast. At the end of the eruption the summit of Otake collapsed, forming a large debris avalanche and creating an open collapse scarp extending to the eastern coast. The island remained uninhabited for about 70 years after the 1813-1814 eruption. Lava flows reached the eastern coast of the island in 1884. Only about 50 people live on the island.

From Wikipedia

Suwanose Jima (諏訪之瀬島) is one of the Tokara Islands, belonging to Kagoshima Prefecture. The island covers 27.66 km² in area and has a population of 84 people. Although the island has an airport, there are no regularly scheduled services, and access is normally by ferry to the city of Kagoshima on the mainland. The island is about nine hours by boat from the mainland. The islanders are dependent mainly on agriculture, fishing and seasonal tourism.

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Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1600~1640 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41802~1842 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41842~1883 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41883~1923 · 6 eruptions · max VEI 41923~1964 · 8 eruptions · max VEI 21964~2004 · 10 eruptions · max VEI 316001681180218831964

Detailed timeline

  1. 2004VEI 2Observed
    2004-10-23 – 2026-03-16
    O-take
  2. 2000VEI 2Observed
    2000-02-24 – 2000-02-24
    O-take
  3. 2000VEI 3Observed
    2000-12-19 – 2004-07-05
    O-take (Upper NE flank)
  4. 1999VEI 1Observed
    1999-01-05 – 1999-02-24
    O-take
  5. 1999VEI 1Observed
    1999-06-15 – 1999-06-30
    O-take
  6. 1996VEI 1Observed
    1996-12-26 – 1997-04-17
    O-take
  7. 1990VEI 2Observed
    1990-04-16 – 1996-07-14
    O-take
  8. 1988VEI 2Observed
    1988-01-16 – 1989-12-16
    O-take
  9. 1985VEI 2Observed
    1985-09-16 – 1987-06-16
    O-take
  10. 1984VEI 2Observed
    1984-10-16 – 1984-10-16
    O-take
  11. 1960VEI 0Observed
    1960-07-02 – Ongoing
    Submarine E flank (Suwanose-jima Oki)
  12. 1956VEI 2Observed
    1956-11-16 – 1984-05-16
    O-take
  13. 1954VEI 0Observed
    1954-07-02 – Ongoing
    Submarine E flank (Suwanose-jima Oki)
  14. 1949VEI 2Observed
    1949-10 – 1954-07-02
    O-take
  15. 1940VEI 2Observed
    1940-11-29 – Ongoing
    O-take
  16. 1938VEI 2Observed
    1938-03-11 – 1938-03-11
    O-take
  17. 1934VEI 2Geological estimate
    1934-01-11 – Ongoing
    O-take
  18. 1925VEI 2Observed
    1925-05-13 – Ongoing
    O-take
  19. 1921VEI 2Observed
    1921-12-08 – 1922-01-26
    O-take
  20. 1915VEI 2Geological estimate
    1915-07 – 1915-09
    O-take
  21. 1914VEI ?Geological estimate
    1914-03-21 – Ongoing
    O-take
  22. 1889VEI 4Observed
    1889-10-02 – 1889-10-13
    O-take
  23. 1885VEI 2Observed
    1885-01 – 1885-05
    O-take
  24. 1884VEI 1Observed
    1884 – Ongoing
    Northeastern summit crater (O-take)
  25. 1877VEI 4Observed
    1877 – Ongoing
  26. 1813VEI 4Observed
    1813 – 1814
    SW ridge fissure and O-take
  27. 1600VEI 4Geological estimate
    1600 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.