Mount Yake

Mount Yake
焼岳
File:Yakedake01s2010.jpg Mount Yake behind Lake Taishō
Highest point
Elevation
Coordinates
Naming
Translation	Burnt mountain (Japanese)
Geography
Mount Yake Takayama, Gifu Prefecture Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture Japan
Parent range	Hida Mountains
Geology
Age of rock	20,000 years
Mountain type	Active stratovolcano
Last eruption	February 1995
Climbing
Easiest route	Hiking

Mount Yake (焼岳, Yake-dake) literally, "Burning mountain" is an active volcano in the Hida Mountains, lying between Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, and Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, reaching 2,455 m (8,054 ft) at the highest peak.

Geography

Mount Yake is the most active of all the volcanoes in the Hida Mountains. Its two main peaks are the northern and southern peaks, but visitors can only ascend to the northern peak, as the southern peak is currently a restricted area. A crater lake lies between the two peaks.

Because the lava flowing from Mount Yake has a high viscosity, it is easily able to build a lava dome.

The heat from the volcano produces many onsen in the surrounding area.

Eruptions

In 1911, 22 minor eruptions were recorded. In 1915, during the Taishō period, however, there was a major eruption. The flow of the lava blocked the Asuza River, which caused the river to form a lake that was named Lake Taishō. The Asuza River is again flowing today, but the lake still remains.

In 1962, there was an eruption that killed two people staying at a small hut near the mouth of the volcano.

In 1995, a tunnel was being constructed on the Nagano Prefecture side of the mountain, through Mount Akandana, which was thought to be part of Mount Yake. At 2:25pm on February 11, the workers encountered volcanic gases, which were quickly followed by a phreatic eruption on Mount Yake, leading to the death of four people. Later explorations have shown that Mount Akandana is an independent volcano.

There is still an active fumarole near the mountain's peak.

• Mount Yake from Mount Nishi-Hotake 1995-4-2.jpg

  seen from Mount Hotaka

• Volcanic craters from Mount Yake North peak 2002-6-5.jpg

  crater lake between the northern and southern peaks

• Mount Yake North peak 2011-07-06.jpg

  northern peak and volcanic gases

• Sulfur minerals in Mount Yake.jpg

  Sulfur

See also

• 100 Famous Japanese Mountains
• List of volcanoes in Japan

External links

• Yakedake - Japan Meteorological Agency (Japanese)
• Yakedake: National catalogue of the active volcanoes in Japan PDF - Japan Meteorological Agency
• Yakedake - Geological Survey of Japan
• Yakedake: Global Volcanism Program - Smithsonian Institution