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.
