Aira Caldera
| Aira Caldera | |
|---|---|
| 姶良カルデラ | |
 Space radar image of Aira Caldera, with Sakurajima in the bay formed by the caldera. | |
| Geography | |
| Geology | |
| Mountain type | Caldera |
| Last eruption | c. 22,000 years ago |
Aira Caldera (姶良カルデラ, Aira-Karudera) is a gigantic volcanic caldera in the south of the island of Kyūshū, Japan. The caldera was created by a massive eruption, approximately 22,000 years ago. Eruption of voluminous pyroclastic flows accompanied the formation of the 17 × 23 km-wide Aira caldera. Together with a large pumice fall, these amounted to more than 400 km3 of tephra (VEI 7).
The major city of Kagoshima and the 13,000-year-old Sakurajima volcano lie within the caldera. Sakura-jima, one of Japan's most active volcanoes, is a post-caldera cone of the Aira caldera at the northern half of Kagoshima Bay.
References
- Aramaki, Shigeo (1984). "Formation of the Aira Caldera, Southern Kyushu, ∼22,000 Years Ago". Journal of Geophysical Research. 89 (B10): 8485–8501. Bibcode:1984JGR....89.8485A. doi:10.1029/JB089iB10p08485.
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