Portal:Japan/Selected article/13
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Sakurajima (桜島?) is an active volcano and a former island (now connected to the mainland) of the same name in Kagoshima Prefecture in Kyūshū, Japan.
It is a stratovolcano with the summit split into three peaks, Kitadake (northern peak), Nakadake (central peak) and Minamidake (southern peak) which is active now. The surface of the island is about 77 km².
Its North Peak (北岳 Kitadake?) is Sakurajima's highest peak, rising to 1,117 metres above sea level. The mountain is located in a part of Kagoshima Bay known as Kinkō Bay (錦江湾 Kinkōwan?). The former island is part of the city of Kagoshima.
In 1914, a great eruption occurred, burying the straits with lava, thus connecting the former island to the Osumi Peninsula, so that Sakurajima is no longer an island. The volcanic activity still continues, dropping large amounts of volcanic ash on the surroundings. Earlier eruptions built the white sands highlands in the region.
