Mount Kusatsu Shirane

Japanese: 草津白根山 - くさつしらねさん

A general term for the mountains located in the northwest of Gunma Prefecture near the border with Nagano Prefecture, including Mt. Shirane, Mt. Ainomine, and Mt. Moto-Shirane. The mountain has an elevation of 2,160 meters. The highly acidic crater lake "Yugama" at the summit of Mt. Shirane is known for its beautiful, milky emerald color and is a popular tourist spot. It is one of the active volcanoes in Japan that the Japan Meteorological Agency is particularly strengthening its monitoring of. In the 1970s, several people were killed by volcanic gas, and in 1983, a steam explosion released head-sized volcanic rocks 600 to 700 meters around the lake, and volcanic ash was scattered as far as Shibukawa City, about 60 kilometers away. Since the Japan Meteorological Agency began announcing eruption alert levels in 2007, the number of volcanic earthquakes has increased in 2014, and the alert level has been raised from level 1 (note that it is an active volcano) to level 2 (restrictions on the area around the crater), and measures have been taken to prohibit entry within a one-kilometer radius of the Yugama crater. The level was subsequently lowered to level 1 in June 2017 as volcanic activity had decreased, but on January 23, 2018, an eruption was confirmed near Kagami-ike Pond on Mt. Moto-Shirane, and volcanic rocks were seen flying more than one kilometer, so the eruption alert was raised to level 3 (mountain entry restrictions), which is expected to have a significant impact even near residential areas.

(2018-1-25)

Source: Asahi Shimbun Publications About Chiekura Mini Information

Japanese:

群馬県北西部の長野県との県境近くに位置する、白根山、逢ノ峰、本白根山などを中心に構成される山の総称。標高2,160メートル。白根山の山頂にある強酸性の火口湖「湯釜」は白濁したエメラルド色の美しさで知られ、観光名所として人気がある。国内の活火山のうち気象庁が特に観測を強化している常時観測火山の一つで、1970年代には火山ガスにより数名の死者が出たほか、83年に起こった水蒸気爆発では人頭大の噴石が周囲600～700メートルに放出、火山灰が約60キロメートル離れた渋川市まで飛散した。2007年に気象庁が噴火警戒レベルの発表を始めて以降は、14年に火山性地震が増加したことから噴火警戒レベル1(活火山であることに留意)からレベル2(火口周辺規制)へと引き上げられ、湯釜火口から1キロメートルの範囲を立ち入り禁止にする措置が取られた。その後は火山活動が低下したとして17年6月にはレベル1に引き下げられたが、18年1月23日に本白根山の鏡池付近で噴火が確認され、さらに噴石が1キロメートル以上飛んでいることから、居住地域の近くまで重大な影響を及ぼすと予想される噴火警戒レベル3(入山規制)に引き上げられた。

(2018-1-25)

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