| Akan Volcanic Complex | |
| Last Eruption: | November 2008 |
| Country: | Japan |
| Subdivision1: | Hokkaidō |
| Subdivision2 Type: | Subprefectures |
| Subdivision3 Type: | Districts |
| Settlement Type: | Municipalities |
| Highest: | Mount Meakan |
| Elevation M: | 1499 |
| Coordinates: | 43.3864°N 144.0089°W |
| Geology: | Volcanic |
| Orogeny: | island arc |
| Map: | Japan#Japan Hokkaido |
Akan Volcanic Complex is a volcanic group of volcanoes that grew out of the Akan caldera.[1] It is located within Akan National Park, about 50 km Northwest of Kushiro in eastern Hokkaidō, Japan.
A number of peaks are arranged around the rim of Lake Akan (Akan-ko[2]), which fills a 24×13 km caldera,[3] the tallest being Me-Akan (Meakan), O-Akan (Oakan) and Akan-Fuji.
Oakan is prominently located at the northeast side of the caldera, while Meakan occupies the opposite, southwest side, in a cluster of nine stratovolcanoes that include Akan-Fuji, one of many symmetrical Japanese volcanoes named after the renowned Mount Fuji, and Fuppushi volcano[4] (a.k.a. Fuppushi-dake, not to be confused with Mount Fuppushi, which is located in Southwestern Hokkaido).
The Akan caldera was formed 31,500 years ago. Its elongated shape is due to its incremental formation during major explosive eruptions, from the early to the mid-Pleistocene periods.
The Nakamachineshiri crater of Meakan volcano was formed during a major eruption about 13,500 years ago.
The Me-Akan group of nine overlapping cones on the eastern side of Lake Akan has had mild eruptions since the beginning of the 19th century.[5] The last eruption of this historical volcano was in 2008.
Oakan, Meakan, Furebetsu and Fuppushi are the major post-caldera volcanoes of the Akan volcanic complex.
Me-Akan is one of the most active volcanoes of Hokkaido. Its summit contains the active craters of Ponmachineshiri and Naka-Machineshiri, sites of frequent phreatic eruptions in historical time. Akan-Fuji and O-Akan have not erupted in historical time.
Akan is rated with a volcanic explosivity index of 4 on the Smithsonian VEI scale, the scale's fourth-highest score, based on the volcano's largest known eruption, around 7050 BC.[6]
Following are prominent features of Akan:[7]