Japan’s Volcano Mount Zao shaken by swarm of tremors – volcano last erupted 75 years ago

April 2015 – JAPAN – Fears of fresh eruption of Mount Zao, a volcano that sits on the border of the Yamagata and Miyagi prefectures, rattled Japan after the country’s meteorological agency recorded 12 volcanic earthquakes on Tuesday. The seismic activity prompted warnings of a volcanic eruption, with the agency asking the public to stay safe from falling rocks in a 1.2 km radius of the volcano, The Japan Times reported.

The agency said that ash from the eruption can even reach beyond the radius, causing panic after last year’s deadly volcanic eruption of Mount Ontake, which erupted without warning on 27 September and killed 60 people. The meteorological agency has advised neighboring towns to raise alert levels in the areas close to the volcano. The warning will affect business at a popular ski resort, as well as mountain trails and restaurants. Mount Zao last erupted in 1940. –IB Times

Mount Zao is a complex volcano on the border between Yamagata Prefecture and Miyagi Prefecture in Japan. It consists of a cluster of stratovolcanoes and is the most active volcano in northern Honshu. The central volcano of the group includes several lava domes and a tuff cone, Goshiki-dake, which contains a crater lake named Okama. Also known as the “Five Color Pond”” (五色沼, goshiki numa) because it changes color depending on the weather, it lies in a crater formed by a volcanic eruption in the 1720s. The lake is 360 meters (1,200 ft) in diameter and 60 m (200 ft) deep, and is one of the main tourist attractions in the area. –Wikipedia