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Japan · Caldera

Kikai Caldera

Kikai

Type
Caldera
Elevation
704m
Last eruption
2025
Kikai Caldera
Photo: 名古屋太郎 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Caldera
Country
Japan
Region
Western Pacific / Ryukyu Volcanic Arc
Elevation
704m
Coordinates
30.793, 130.305
Last eruption
2025
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Oceanic crust (< 15 km)
Landform
Caldera
Major rock type
Rhyolite

Geological summary

Multiple eruption centers have exhibited recent activity at Kikai, a mostly submerged, 19-km-wide caldera near the northern end of the Ryukyu Islands south of Kyushu.

Excerpt from the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution · Read the full summary on GVP →

From Wikipedia

Kikai Caldera is a massive, mostly submerged caldera up to 19 kilometres (12 mi) in diameter in the Ōsumi Islands of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

30 recordedGlossary

Record summary

Confirmed eruptions
28
Uncertain eruptions
2
Span of confirmed record
4350 BCE – 2025
Largest confirmed eruption
VEI 7 (4350 BCE)
Confirmed eruptions since 1900
15
Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions · Use arrow keys to move between bars, Enter to open
4350 BCE~4137 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 73287 BCE~3075 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?2650 BCE~2437 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?2012 BCE~1800 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1162 BCE~950 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 2312 BCE~100 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?325~538 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3750~963 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 3963~1175 · 2 eruptions · max VEI ?1175~1388 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1388~1600 · 1 eruptions · max VEI ?1813~2025 · 17 eruptions · max VEI 24350 BCE2862 BCE1162 BCE3251813

Detailed timeline

  1. 2025VEI 1Observed
    2025-12-29 – 2025-12-29
    Iodake Crater
  2. 2024VEI 1Observed
    2024-09-01 – 2024-09-03
    Satsuma Iwo-jima (Iodake Crater)
  3. 2023VEI ?Observed
    2023-03-27 – 2023-07-31
  4. 2020VEI 1Observed
    2020-04-29 – 2020-04-29
  5. 2020VEI 1Observed
    2020-10-06 – 2020-10-06
  6. 2019VEI 2Observed
    2019-11-02 – 2019-11-02
  7. 2013VEI 1Observed
    2013-06-04 – 2013-06-04
    Iodake
  8. 2004VEI 2Observed
    2004-03-05 – 2004-10-16
    Iwo-dake
  9. 2003VEI 2Observed
    2003-02-16 – 2003-10-16
    Iwo-dake
  10. 2002VEI 2Observed
    2002-05-11 – 2002-07-16
    Iwo-dake
  11. 2000VEI 2Observed
    2000-01-16 – 2000-03-16
    Iwo-dake
  12. 2000VEI 1Observed
    2000-10-16 – 2001-12-16
    Iwo-dake
  13. 1998VEI 2Observed
    1998-04-25 – 1999-08-16
    Iwo-dake
  14. 1997VEI 1Observed
    1997-07-02 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  15. 1988VEI 1Observed
    1988-01-18 – 1988-01-18
    Iwo-dake
  16. 1934VEI 2Observed
    1934-09-19 – 1935-08-16
    2 km east of Tokara-Iwo-Jima
  17. 1914VEI ?Method not stated
    1914-02-13 – end unknown
    Tokara-Iwo-jima
  18. 1430 (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1430 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  19. 1340 (±30 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1340 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  20. 1030 (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1030 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  21. 1010 (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1010 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  22. 830 (±40 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    830 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  23. 750VEI 3Geological estimate
    750 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  24. 390 (±100 yrs)VEI 3Geological estimate
    390 – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  25. 280 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    280 BCE – end unknown
    Iwo-dake
  26. 1090 BCE (±100 yrs)VEI 2Geological estimate
    1090 BCE – end unknown
    Inamura-dake
  27. 1830 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    1830 BCE – end unknown
    Inamura-dake
  28. 2450 BCE (±840 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    2450 BCE – end unknown
    Old Iwo-dake
  29. 3250 BCE (±75 yrs)VEI ?Geological estimate
    3250 BCE – end unknown
    Old Iwo-dake
  30. 4350 BCEVEI 7Geological estimate
    4350 BCE – end unknown
    Kikai caldera

Nearby volcanoes

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.