Asu Mountain (Japanese: Asu Mountain/そさん)[10]）, located in Kyushu, JapanKumamoto-kenAso Bamboo field[7]It is located at 32.884 ° N, 131.104 ° E and 1592 meters above sea level. It is a compound volcano composed of andesite and basalt andesite. It is also a volcano observed by the Japan Meteorological Agency for a long time[10-11]。
Located on the circum Pacific volcanic seismic belt, Asu Mountain is composed of five volcanoes, namely Zhongyue, Gaoyue, Chudaoyue, Wumaoyue and Genziyue, and forms the central crater mound group, known as the "Asu Five Mountains". It is 24 kilometers long from north to south, 18 kilometers wide from east to west, about 120 kilometers around, and covers an area of 250 square kilometers. It is located at the junction of the east-west Baishan volcanic belt and the north-south Wudao volcanic belt,Composed of Miocene Pleistocene andesite and rhyolite, it formed the largest caldera in Japan 300000 to 90000 years ago.[1][5]
There were 186 eruptions in Asu Mountain in Holocene, including 10 with VEI greater than grade 3[11], the latest outbreak was inAround 11:43 a.m. on October 20, 2021,The Japanese meteorological department has set the alert as Level 3.[8-9]
Chinese name
Mount Asu
Foreign name
Asu Mountain/そさん[10] Asosan Mount
Mountain system
Meeting point of Baishan volcanic belt and Wudao volcanic belt
geographical position
Takehara, Asu City, Kumamoto County, Kyushu, Japan[7]
From 1 million to 350000 years ago, small-scale volcanic activities occurred in many places of Mount Asu.About 300000 to 30000 years ago, due to several large eruptions, the hollow Mount Asu collapsed, forming a caldera.The water inside forms a lake.About 10000 years ago, volcanic activity occurred again in the central part, and the lake disappeared, gradually forming the initial appearance of Mount Asu.The modern Mount Asu was formed in four large-scale volcanic eruptions about 270000 years ago, 140000 years ago, 120000 years ago and 90000 years ago.[13-14]A series of volcanic eruptions caused a large amount of underground magma to rise to the ground, and the underground space was depressed, thus forming a huge caldera depression terrain in the Asu region.About 70000 years ago after the formation of the caldera, the central volcanic hills formed in the middle, which is now the Asu Mountain where five mountains coexist.[13]
Mount Asu, located in Takehara, Asu City, Kumamoto County, Kyushu, Japan[7], located in the center of Kyushu Island, 32.884 ° N and 131.104 ° E.[3-4]It is the center of Asu National Park across Kumamoto County and Dafen County, including the Wailun Mountain with a circumference of 128 kilometers, which is distributed with 7 villages and towns and the five mountains of Asu.[5]
Asu Mountain Fire Mouth
geographical environment
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geology
Asu Mountain is a compound volcano of large caldera composed of andesite and basalt andesite[11]。
landforms
The crater of Mount Asu in central Kyushu, Japan
Asu Mountain is slightly elliptical, 24 kilometers long from north to south, 18 kilometers wide from east to west, and covers an area of 250 square kilometers. The area between Huokou Mountain and Wailun Mountain is divided into two parts, the north part is called Asu Valley, and the south part is called Nanxiang Valley.Mount Asu is 1592 meters high,[3-4]There are more than 10 fire vents (also known as compound volcanoes) in the large crater. There are many hot springs and waterfalls in the large crater, and there is the Asu National Park.Its caldera is a huge bowl shaped volcanic depression, marking the location of the original crater.[13]There are many cliffs and steep walls in the inner side of Wailunshan Mountain, with exposed lava and distinct layers;The terrain outside is gently inclined and gradually expands to the surrounding areas, forming a wavy plateau.[5][13][15]
hydrology
The Heihe River and the Baihe River flow through Asu Mountain, Asu Valley and Nanxiang Valley respectively.Before the confluence of the two rivers, there were Luliu Waterfall in Heihe River and Nianhui Waterfall in Baihe River, which hung from the valley wall and flew down.After the two rivers near Liye converge, they cut through the Wailunshan Mountain and rush westward into Kumamoto Plain.[16]
climate
The annual average temperature of Mount Asu is 9.4 ℃, January - 1.8 ℃, August 20.1 ℃, and the annual precipitation is 3255mm.[16]
Major volcanoes
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Asu Mountain is located at the junction of the east-west Baishan volcanic belt and the north-south Wudao volcanic belt,[1][5]It is composed of five volcanoes, namely Zhongyue, Gaoyue, Chudaoyue, Wumaoyue and Genziyue, and forms the central crater mound group, known as the "Assu Five Mountains". It is 24 kilometers long from north to south, 18 kilometers wide from east to west, about 120 kilometers around, and covers an area of 250 square kilometers.[1][5]
Gaoyue is the highest with an altitude of 1592 meters.Zhongyue is located in the center of the big fire crater. It is an active volcano. Its crater is about 1100 meters long from north to south, and about 400 meters wide from east to west. The crater is 160 meters deep. There are seven vent holes. The first vent in the northwest is emitting thick smoke, and there is still volcanic activity.The Wailunshan Mountain of the Asu Mountain Caldera is about 1000 meters above sea level, with a relative height of 400~800 meters in the south and 300~450 meters in the north.[13][15]
volcanic activity
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Maximum eruption volume
The largest eruption of Mount Asu was 90000 years ago. The eruption volume has been re identified as 1860 cubic kilometers, and the eruption index (VEI) is 8. In the past 100000 years, the eruption volume is only second to the Toba volcano (the Toba volcano eruption volume is 3200 cubic kilometers). The volcanic lava deposits erupted can be found in Shimhara, Tiancao, and even Qiujitai, Shankou County, far across the sea;Volcanic ash drifted to the east of Hokkaido, and the 10 cm thick deposit was still there. Mount Asu has been designated as a super volcano.[5][15]
Activity History
There were 186 eruptions in Asu Mountain in Holocene, including 10 eruptions with VEI greater than grade 3.[11]
Records of the eruption of Mount Asu in the Holocene
On November 26, 2014, the first crater of the Azu Zhongyue volcano erupted, slightly expanding the mountain, and the smoke from the volcano was up to about 1000 meters.[1]
On November 27, 2014, Asu volcano erupted a large amount of volcanic ash, up to 1500 meters high, and more than 30 flights nearby were canceled.[1]
At about 9:43 am on September 14, 2015, Mount Asu erupted again.
On April 16, 2016, as a result of the earthquake, the Asu volcano erupted on a small scale, and thick smoke rushed into the sky about 100 meters.[2]
On the morning of October 8, 2016, Mount Asu erupted, with a volcanic ash cloud as high as 11000 meters.
On April 16, 2019, the Nakayama crater of Asu Mountain in Japan erupted again, with ash as high as 200 meters.[6][12]
On October 20, 2021, a volcanic eruption occurred in Mount Asu, Japan, and the meteorological department set it as a Level 3 alert.[8-9]
tourist resources
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overview
Asu Mountain Volcano is the main landscape of Asu National Park. To the west of the Huohuoshan Pass, there are many hot springs, such as Neimu, Asu, Chuiyu, and so on. It is a famous bathing place.There is Mount Asu Volcano Museum on Mount Asu. You can watch the images of volcanic eruptions on a wide screen through two remote cameras set at Zhongyue Huokou. You can also see the natural scenery of Mount Asu, which stretches for hundreds of miles, and the customs of residents living here.Mount Asu is an active volcano, so there are many shelters around it.There is a grassland covered with volcanic ash on the mountainside of the northern slope of Wumao Mountain near the Asu Volcano Museum. You can experience horses and oxen in spring and autumn, and ski and ice skating in winter, which is very popular.[5][17]
Asu Mountain is the core part of Japan's "Asu National Park". In addition to Asu Mountain, the park also includes the Jiuzhong volcano group in the northeast, the bell shaped volcano groups such as Hejiayue and Youbuyue near the Biefu Hot Spring, and the Gaoqi Mountain (where wild apes live) in Dafen County, covering a total area of 734 square kilometers.There are also many nature themed leisure facilities around Asu National Park. You can take a cableway car to get near the fire spout, where the sulfur smell comes out.[16]
Ziyue Grassland
A thousand li of grass
Grass Miles refers to the vast grassland in the middle of the Bird Hat Mountain (one of the five mountains of Asu, 1337 meters above sea level).There is a grassland covered with volcanic ash on the mountainside of the northern slope of Wumao Mountain. In spring and autumn, cattle and horses can be put up, and in winter, it can be used as a ski resort, skating rink, etc. It is also a scenic spot for Japan to use the nature of the prairie.Grass thousands of miles used to be a fire, but covered with a lot of green grass, located in the west of Asu. There are two ponds in the grassland. In the dry season, the water in the pond evaporates, and the pond will be formed again when the rainy season comes.In winter, the pool water freezes and becomes a natural skating rink.From April to November every year, tourists can ride horses on the grassland.At the foot of the mountain, the grass is luxuriant. Climbing the Daguan Peak on the north wall of Wailun Mountain, you can overlook the panoramic view of Mount Asu.On the way up the mountain, you can see some old craters, especially a pocket volcano. Because the activity has been stopped for a long time, the whole volcano is covered with plants, like a green steamed bun.[18]
Assu Farm
Assu Farm is located on the mountainside of the national park Assu. There are theme parks, shopping paradises, restaurants, natural hot springs, half dome roof accommodation facilities, etc., and you can also experience wood painting, music box production, etc.It is a multi-functional and comprehensive leisure park for education and entertainment, located in Asu Changye Village, covering an area of about 1 million square meters.With three elements of "human, nature and vitality", the builders integrated the farm and nature, and scattered them in the valley along the terrain. Each unique round arch shaped farm is the land residence of tourists.[19]
The Asu Mountain Volcano Museum can observe the situation of the active crater through the controller.The dynamic model of the exhibition hall condenses the transformation process from 300000 years ago to modern Mount Asu in just 2 minutes, which is expressed in sound, light and language. Visitors can watch the process repeatedly by activating the front button;There are many things about volcanoes on the second floor, including rock specimens. Visitors can touch them with their hands or borrow a magnifying glass from the ticket office for free to see the materials inside;There are videos of several volcanic eruptions in history. You can also press the button to select the content you want to see;In addition, in the introduction of birds in the nature of Asu, visitors can press the button to select the bird's call they want to hear;The museum has installed two cameras at the fire mountain pass in Asu Zhongyue. In the fire mouth monitoring operation experience corner on the second floor of the museum, visitors can freely control one of the cameras to see the situation of different positions of the fire mouth in real time.You can also see the natural scenery of Mount Asu, which stretches for hundreds of miles, and the customs of residents living here.[17]
scientific research
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With the cooperation of relevant organizations, the Japan Meteorological Agency has installed seismometers, inclinometers, aerial survey instruments, GNSS, light wave rangefinders and surveillance cameras to monitor and observe volcanic activities.[11]Mount Asu has the Volcano Research Institute of Kyoto University and Mount Asu Meteorological Station.[16]
civil life
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The original water conservancy condition in Huokou of Mount Asu is good, and the pasture at the foot of the outer ship mountain is abundant. There are about 80000 residents in Gongdi, Neimu and Gaosen towns and 11 villages around Huokou, and farming, sericulture and animal husbandry are thriving.Mountain pastures are used for raising cattle and producing dairy products.[5]
