Aogashima
Izu Volcanic Arc, Japan. This page separates the permanent volcano catalogue, historical eruption records, and selective weekly activity reports.
- Coordinates
- 32.46° N, 139.76° E
- Elevation
- 423 m
- Last recorded eruption
- 1785 CE
- Historical eruption records
- 7
- Primary type
- Stratovolcano
- Evidence
- Eruption Observed
- GVP database
- 5.4.0
- Catalogue revision
- Revision 2
Volcano profile
- Volcanic landform
- Composite
- Tectonic setting
- Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
- Geologic epoch
- Holocene
- Major rock type
- Basalt / Picro-Basalt
- Region
- Northwestern Pacific Volcanic Regions
- Subregion
- Izu Volcanic Arc
Geological summary
The small 2.5 x 3.5 km dominantly basaltic island of Aogashima is surrounded by steep cliffs and contains a small 1.7 x 1.5-km-wide caldera. Two pyroclastic cones were formed inside the caldera during the latest eruption from 1780 to 1785. Growth of the volcano began with construction of the Kurosaki stratovolcano in the NW part of the island, after which the main stratovolcano began growing in the SE. Both summit and flank vents produced pyroclastic surges and lava flows. Late in the construction of the main cone a 1-1.5 km crater was formed on the SE flank. About 3000 years ago pyroclastic surges swept over the entire island. During about the next 600 years, lava flows and scoria deposits filled the SE crater, which also collapsed repeatedly. The current Ikenosawa crater was considered by Takada et al. (1992) to have formed by ring collapse at the time of a debris avalanche, after which the volcano was quiescent until the eruptions of historical time.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1780-07-27 CE | 1785-05 CE (day qualifier ?) | Confirmed EruptionMaru-yama, SW part of Ikenosawa crater | Confirmed | 3 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18308Database 5.4.0 |
| 1670 CE | 1680 CE | Confirmed EruptionIkenosawa crater | Confirmed | 2 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18307Database 5.4.0 |
| 1652 CE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionIkenosawa crater | Confirmed | 3 | Observations: Reported | GVP 18306Database 5.4.0 |
| 601 ±200 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionSE flank (Kintagaura) | Confirmed | 4 | Isotopic: 14C (uncalibrated) | GVP 18305Database 5.4.0 |
| 1101 ±300 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionNNW flank | Confirmed | Not supplied | Correlation: Tephrochronology | GVP 18304Database 5.4.0 |
| 1201 ±50 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed Eruption | Confirmed | Not supplied | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18303Database 5.4.0 |
| 1801 ±100 years BCE | Not supplied | Confirmed EruptionNorthwest flank | Confirmed | ?2 | Isotopic: 14C (calibrated) | GVP 18302Database 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.