Volcano Watch No. 46

12 November -18 November 2008

New Activity/Unrest:

• Akan, Hokkaido
• Barren Island, Andaman Is
• Dalaffilla, Northeastern Africa
• Nevado del Huila, Colombia
• Reventador, Ecuador

AKAN

Country:    Japan
Region :    Hokkaido
Volcano Type:    Caldera
Last Known Eruption:    2006
Summit Elevation:    1499 m
Latitude:    43.384°N     43°23’3″N
Longitude:    144.013°E    144°0’46″E

Akan is a 13 x 24 km, elongated caldera that formed more than 31,500 years ago immediately SW of Kutcharo caldera. Growth of four post-caldera stratovolcanoes, three at the SW end of the caldera and the other at the NE side, has restricted the size of the caldera lake. The 1-km-wide Nakamachineshiri crater was formed during a major pumice-and-scoria eruption about 13,500 years ago. Of the Holocene volcanoes of the Akan volcanic complex, only the Me-Akan group, E of Lake Akan, has been historically active, producing mild phreatic eruptions since the beginning of the 19th century. Me-Akan is composed of 9 overlapping cones. The main cone of Me-Akan proper has a triple crater at its summit. Historical eruptions at Me-Akan have consisted of minor phreatic explosions, but four major magmatic eruptions including pyroclastic flows have occurred during the Holocene. (Akan Information from the Global Volcanism Program). Photo: Wataru Hirose, November 23, 1996 (Hokkaido University).

Ongoing Activity:

• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka (Russia)
• Kilauea, Hawaii
• Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Santa María, Guatemala
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)

This page is updated on Wednesdays, please see the GVP Home Page for news of the latest significant activity.