Oshima Volcano, Japan
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Oshima Volcano, Japan
A steam plume rises from the crater of Mihara-yama on Oshima island.
Mihara-yama lies within a 4-km-wide caldera, whose rim is prominently visible in this aerial photo from the SW.
Dark-colored lava flows from the 1986 eruption cover part of the caldera floor north of Mihara-yama.
More than 40 parasitic cones are located within the caldera and along two parallel rift zones trending NNW-SSE across the island.
The port city of Motomachi on the west coast is at the left and the island's airport is at the upper left.
Oshima volcano in Sagami Bay, east of the Izu Peninsula, is the northernmost of the Izu Islands.
The broad, low stratovolcano forms an 11 x 13 km island and was constructed over the remnants of three dissected stratovolcanoes.
It is capped by a 4-km-wide caldera with a central cone, Mihara-yama, that has been the site of numerous historical eruptions.
More than 40 parasitic cones are located within the caldera and along two parallel rift zones trending NNW-SSE.
Although Oshima is a dominantly basaltic volcano, strong explosive activity has occurred at intervals of 100-150 years throughout the past few thousand years.
Historical activity at Oshima dates back to the 7th century AD.
A major eruption in 1986 produced spectacular lava fountains up to 1600 m height and a 16-km-high subplinian eruption column; more than 12,000 persons were evacuated from the island.
PHOTO SOURCE: Ichio Moriya (Kanazawa University), courtesy of the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, used with permission.
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