Mount Asama
Overview
Complex volcano
A complex volcano, also called a compound volcano, is a volcano with more than one feature. They form because changes of their eruptive characteristics or the location of multiple vents in an area...
in central Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, the main island of 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 volcano is the most active on Honshū. The Japan Meteorological Agency
Japan Meteorological Agency
The or JMA, is the Japanese government's weather service. Charged with gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Japan, it is a semi-autonomous part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport...
classifies Mount Asama as rank A. It stands 2568 metres (8,425.2 ft) above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
on the border of Gunma
Gunma Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the northwest corner of the Kantō region on Honshu island. Its capital is Maebashi.- History :The remains of a Paleolithic man were found at Iwajuku, Gunma Prefecture, in the early 20th century and there is a public museum there.Japan was without horses until...
and Nagano prefecture
Nagano Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of the island of Honshū. The capital is the city of Nagano.- History :Nagano was formerly known as the province of Shinano...
s. It is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan.
Mount Asama sits at the conjunction of the Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc
Izu-Bonin-Mariana Arc
The Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc system is an outstanding example of a plate tectonic convergent boundary. IBM extends over 2800 km south from Tokyo, Japan, to beyond Guam, and includes the Izu Islands, Bonin Islands, and Mariana Islands; much more of the IBM arc system is submerged below sealevel...
and the Northeastern Japan Arc
Northeastern Japan Arc
Northeastern Japan Arc also Northeastern Honshū Arc, is an island arc on the Pacific Ring of Fire. The arc runs north to south along the Tohoku region of Honshū, Japan. It is the result of the subduction of the Pacific Plate underneath the North American Plate at the Japan Trench...
.
Unanswered Questions
