, also referred to as , is the 14th highest mountain and second highest volcano in Japan (after Mount Fuji) at . It is included in 100 Famous Japanese Mountains.
Description
Mt. Ontake is located around northeast of Nagoya, and around 200 km (125 mi) west of Tokyo, at the borders of Kiso and Ōtaki, Nagano Prefecture, and Gero, Gifu Prefecture. The volcano has five crater lakes, with at being the highest mountain lake in Japan. Ontake is a major sacred mountain, and following older shamanistic practices, actors and artists have gone to the mountain to put themselves into trances in order to get divine inspiration for their creative activities.
Eruptions
Ontake was thought to be inactive until October 1979, when it underwent a series of explosive phreatic eruptions which ejected 200,000 tons of ash, and had a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 2. There were minor non-explosive (VEI 0) phreatic eruptions in 1991 and 2007.
On Saturday, September 27, 2014, at around 11:53 a.m. Japan Standard Time (UTC +9), the volcano erupted with a VEI of 3. There were no significant earthquakes that might have warned authorities in the lead up to the phreatic eruption—caused by ground water flashing to steam in a hydrothermal explosion. The Mount Ontake volcano eruption was an extremely rare phenomenon which made it difficult to take precautionary measures. At the time of the eruption, several hiking parties were undertaking ascents and descents of Ontake, with emergency descents having to be undertaken in the presence of ash clouds and falling rocks. 63 people were killed; five bodies were never found. The Japan Self-Defense Forces began carrying out helicopter searches for missing people after the eruption.
Gallery
See also
100 Famous Japanese Mountains
List of mountains in Japan
List of Ultras of Japan
List of volcanoes in Japan
Ontake Prefectural Natural Park
Three-thousanders (in Japan) OSJ Ontake SkyRace