Major Quake Could Cause Mount Fuji Eruption

Above, the summit of Mount Fuji from the timberline.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Mount Fuji last erupted in 1707, but it is still considered an active volcano. Scientists say that a major earthquake could "rip open" its magma chamber, causing it to erupt.  

According to a Japan Times article:

The iconic, 3,776-meter-high Mount Fuji may violently erupt if a major earthquake were to rip open its magma chamber, according to a team of researchers. 

The researchers include those from the state-run National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, or AIST. 

Mount Fuji, which was registered on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage cultural sites last month, is an active stratovolcano that last erupted in 1707 in what is known as the Hoei eruption, which dumped a large amount of volcanic ash onto the Kanto region, centering on what is now Tokyo.

To read the full article, go here.