Akita-Komagatake
Northeast Japan Volcanic Arc, Japan. This page separates the permanent volcano catalogue, historical eruption records, and selective weekly activity reports.
- Coordinates
- 39.76° N, 140.80° E
- Elevation
- 1,637 m
- Last recorded eruption
- 1971 CE
- Historical eruption records
- 18
- Primary type
- Stratovolcano(es)
- Evidence
- Eruption Observed
- GVP database
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- Revision 2
Volcano profile
- Volcanic landform
- Composite
- Tectonic setting
- Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
- Geologic epoch
- Holocene
- Major rock type
- Basalt / Picro-Basalt
- Region
- Northwestern Pacific Volcanic Regions
- Subregion
- Northeast Japan Volcanic Arc
Geological summary
Two calderas partially filled by basaltic cones cut the summit of Akita-Komagatake volcano. The larger southern caldera is 1.5 x 3 km wide and has a shallow sloping floor that is drained through a narrow gap cutting the SW caldera rim. On its northern side is a smaller more circular 1.2-km-wide caldera whose rim is breached widely to the NE. The two calderas were formed following explosive eruptions at the end of the Pleistocene, between about 13,500 and 11,600 years ago. Two cones, Medake and Kodake, occupy the NE corner of the southern caldera, whose long axis trends NE-SW. The Onamedake cone within the northern caldera has produced lava flows to the north and east; it has a 100-m-wide summit crater. Small-scale historical eruptions have occurred from cones and fissure vents inside the southern caldera. The temperatures of geothermal areas increased beginning in 2005, and some fumarolic plumes were observed in 2011-12.
Separate activity dataset
Weekly volcanic activity reports
Smithsonian/USGS weekly reports are selective and preliminary. They are not a comprehensive list of all eruptions or volcanic activity.
No weekly report appears on this page. Absence from the weekly report does not establish an absence of volcanic activity.
Historical catalogue records
Eruption history
Dates can be approximate, incomplete, or BCE. These are historical catalogue observations, not a statement about present activity.
| Start | End | Activity | Confirmation | VEI | Evidence | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970-09-18 CE | 1971-01-26 CE | Confirmed EruptionMe-dake | Confirmed | 2 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18053Database 5.4.0 |
| 1932-07-21 CE | 1932-07-24 CE | Confirmed EruptionIshibora (south flank of Me-dake) | Confirmed | 2 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18052Database 5.4.0 |
| 1902-07-02 CE (day uncertainty +/- 182) | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionYoko-dake | Confirmed | ?1 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18051Database 5.4.0 |
| 1890-12-16 CE (day uncertainty +/- 15) | 1891-01-16 CE (day uncertainty +/- 15) | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18050Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 1100 CE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18049Database 5.4.0 |
| ? 807 CE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 3 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18048Database 5.4.0 |
| 400 ±500 years CE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionMe-dake | Confirmed | Not supplied | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18047Database 5.4.0 |
| 51 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 2 | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18046Database 5.4.0 |
| 201 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionMinami-dake, Ko-dake | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18045Database 5.4.0 |
| 351 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 3 | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18044Database 5.4.0 |
| 1451 ±50 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18043Database 5.4.0 |
| 5951 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 3 | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18042Database 5.4.0 |
| 6151 ±300 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | Not supplied | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18041Database 5.4.0 |
| 6351 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 3 | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18040Database 5.4.0 |
| 7101 ±900 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | Not supplied | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18039Database 5.4.0 |
| 7851 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 4 | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18038Database 5.4.0 |
| 8301 ±300 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | 4 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18036Database 5.4.0 |
| 8801 ±300 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | ?3 | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18035Database 5.4.0 |
Source and attribution
Source: Data: Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, Volcanoes of the World.
View the original Smithsonian GVP recordGlobal Volcanism Program, 2026. Volcanoes of the World 5.4.0.
The GVP database is scientific documentation that changes as evidence is reviewed. Historical dates may be approximate or uncertain. This platform is not an official emergency-warning service.
Read the GVP terms of useData freshness
- Source updated
- Not supplied
- Retrieved
- 11 Oct 2026, 13:07 UTC
- GVP database version
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- 2
Source-update and retrieval times describe this catalogue record. Each weekly report carries its own publication date and preliminary status.