Why in the News?

Japan’s Sakurajima volcano has erupted several times sending ash plumes up to 4.4 km into the atmosphere.

Sakurajima Volcano erupts in Japan's Kyushu

About Sakurajima Volcano:

Location: Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, sitting on the southern rim of the Aira caldera inside Kagoshima Bay.
Geological Origin: Linked to formation of the Aira caldera (22,000–29,000 years ago); Sakurajima developed as a post-caldera cone about 13,000 years ago.
Volcano Type: A classic stratovolcano built from alternating lava and ash layers; active vents include Minamidake crater and the Showa flank crater.
Physical Features: Height 1,117 m, circumference ≈50 km; originally an island until 1914 lava flows connected it to the Osumi Peninsula.
Eruption Style: Dominantly Strombolian eruptions (ash, bombs, lapilli) but historically capable of large Plinian eruptions.
Historical Activity: Continuous eruptive record since 963 AD; major episodes in 1471–76, 1779–82, and the 1914 catastrophic eruption.
Risk Status: Considered one of Japan’s most dangerous volcanoes due to high activity, caldera-linked magma supply and extreme proximity to inhabited zones.

Near-Continuous Activity: Erupts hundreds of times annually, ranking among the world’s most persistently active volcanoes.
Caldera System: Built on the Aira caldera, giving it a deep, complex, highly active magma plumbing network.
Landform Transformation: The 1914 eruption converted Sakurajima from an island into a peninsula, an unusual event in recorded volcanology.

[UPSC 2005] Where is the volcanic mountain, Mount St- Helens located?

Options: (a) Chile (b) Japan (c) Philippines (d) United States of America*