Funagata volcano is a stratovolcano

Stratovolcano

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...

 that consists of several different mountains. The volcano is located on the border of Miyagi Prefecture

Miyagi Prefecture

is a prefecture of Japan in the Tōhoku Region on Honshu island. The capital is Sendai.- History :Miyagi Prefecture was formerly part of the province of Mutsu. Mutsu Province, on northern Honshu, was one of the last provinces to be formed as land was taken from the indigenous Emishi, and became the...

 and Yamagata Prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture

-Fruit:Yamagata Prefecture is the largest producer of cherries and pears in Japan. A large quantity of other kinds of fruits such as grapes, apples, peaches, melons, persimmons and watermelons are also produced.- Demographics :...

 in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. The precise location of the volcano is 38°27′N 140°37′E, the summit of Mount Funagata (船形山). The mountain is 1,500 m high and is the highest point in the Funagata volcano and Sendai

Sendai, Miyagi

is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku Region. In 2005, the city had a population of one million, and was one of Japan's 19 designated cities...

. The mountain is called Mount Gosho (御所山) in Yamagata. Other mountains that compose the Funagata volcano include Mount Ushiroshirahige (後白髪山), Mount Mitsumine (三峰山), and Mount Izumigatake (泉ヶ岳). Izumigatake is the most famous of these mountains, with two ski resort

Ski resort

A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing and other winter sports. In Europe a ski resort is a town or village in a ski area - a mountainous area, where there are ski trails and supporting services such as hotels and other accommodation, restaurants, equipment rental and a ski lift system...

s and several camping areas. Izumigatake is also the namesake of Izumi-ku

Izumi-ku, Sendai

is the northernmost ward of Sendai, in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. Although Izumi-ku is mostly a residential area, it is also home to several college campuses; and companies such as Alps, Freescale Semiconductor, and Toppan have a large presence in the Izumi Parktown Industrial Park.As of November...

, Sendai. Mount Kurohana (黒鼻山) was traditionally considered part of the Funagata volcano. However, recent research has revealed that Mount Kurohana should be considered a separate volcano.

The Funagata volcano was formed around 1.2 to 0.56 million years ago. Mount Izumigatake is the oldest, created around 1.2 million years ago. Mount Funagata was subsequently formed around 80 to 60 Ma ago. The Funagata volcano is made up of andesite

Andesite

Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...

, which is easily distinguished from the pigeonite

Pyroxene

The pyroxenes are a group of important rock-forming inosilicate minerals found in many igneous and metamorphic rocks. They share a common structure consisting of single chains of silica tetrahedra and they crystallize in the monoclinic and orthorhombic systems...

 basalt

Basalt

Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...

 that erupted from Mout Kurohana. The crater

Volcanic crater

A volcanic crater is a circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a basin, circular in form within which occurs a vent from which magma erupts as gases, lava, and ejecta. A crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth...

that produced Mount Izumigatake is located on a ridge between Izumigatake and Kita-izumigatake (North Izumigatake).