Mount Sakurajima discussion

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Mount Sakurajima

Mount Sakurajima, in southern Japan, has erupted at 08:30 GMT, (5:30 pm local time), on Wednesday, 7th June 2006. According to the Japanese Weather Agency, ash was blown 1,000 metres into the air. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The 1,117-metre high volcano is one of Japan's most active volcanoes situated in Kagoshima Bay, near the main island of Kyushuf . In 1914, a great eruption occurred, the outpouring of that lava now connects the former island to the Osumi Peninsula, so that the volcano is no longer an island.

Sakurajima is located in the Aira caldera, which formed in an enormous eruption 22,000 years ago. Several hundred cubic kilometres of ash and pumice were ejected, causing the magma chamber underneath the erupting vents to collapse. The resulting caldera is over 20 km across.