DESCRIPTION AND
DATA SHEET

Mount Fuji
Honshu, Japan, Earth

Mount Fuji (Fujiyama), on the island on Honshu, Japan, is a classic stratovolcano. This volcano reaches 3776 meters above sea level and is noted for its steeply sloping (35° near the summit) and symmetric profile. It is often called one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Mount Fuji has a prominent summit crater and is constructed from innumerable basaltic lava flows, each a few meters thick. Mount Fuji last erupted in 1707.

The area near Mount Fuji has been volcanically active for a long time. Mount Fuji was built on top of the Pleistocene stratovolcano Komitake. The main eruptive phases that formed Fuji occurred 80,000 to 10,000 years ago, followed by another phase starting roughly 5000 years ago and continuing to the present. To the southeast of Mount Fuji is Hakone volcano, an extinct triple volcano that last erupted 5000 years ago.

Mount Fuji is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire. Japan is a block of continental crust that was tectonically deformed in the Mesozoic era and broke away from the Asian continent in the Cenozoic era. Volcanism and tectonism continue today and trigger large earthquakes such as those that occurred in Tokyo (1923) and Kobe (1995). This activity results from the thrusting or subduction of the Pacific crustal plate beneath Japan (see Kurile-Kamchatka Trench). Melting of the descending crustal slab triggers volcanism in the overlying crust, in this case Japan. Mount Fuji and the surrounding volcanic complexes formed near the intersection of the Japan and Bonin subduction zones.

The steep, gullied, and forested hills surrounding Mount Fuji are characteristic of the terrain of Japan. These hills are too steep for agriculture and illustrate the difficulties posed for this densely populated island nation.

Location:
     35.3 N, 138.7 E
Mission:
     STS 58
Image Numbers:
     58-103-73, 58-103-74
Image Resolution
(Full-Sized View):
     60 meters/pixel
Image Width:
     61 kilometers
Vertical Exaggeration:
     1.9 × Normal
Vertical Resolution:
     50 meters
Spacecraft Altitude:
     240 kilometers
Stereo Baseline:
     93 kilometers
Convergence Angle:
     14°