Taking a Look at the Ogasawara Archipelago - 1452 Words

The Japanese volcanic island arc known as the Ogasawara Archipelago enjoys a warm, marine subtropical climate and is free from the industrial overpopulation of mainland Japan. These islands are situated in one of the most highly active volcanic regions of the world, part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, and formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate boundaries. The islands themselves were formed by eruptions of lava due to undersea oceanic plate convergence over fifteen million years ago. Nishino-shimas coordinates lie at 27.247 °N / 140.874 °E, and is one of the youngest islands, believed to be only ten thousand years old, with the last active vent erupting in 1973. The Ogasawara Islands are known in English as the Bonin Islands, about 600 miles south of Japan, visited by a ferry ride from Tokyo. Only the two largest islands, Chichijima (Father Island) and Hahajima (Mother Island) in this chain are inhabited. [Nunn, 2009] Niijima is born On November 20, 2013 at 10:30 A.M., black smoke was first seen billowing forth from the sea, directly off the west shore of Nishino-shima. Volcanologists and scientists observed a new island measuring 600 feet across, gushing a basaltic andesite lava. [Kurtenbach, 2013] The Japanese government hastily named their newest island Niijima, meaning the new one, while scientists were still unsure if the island surface would remain above sea level as the lava cooled and hardened. Recently formed volcanic formationsShow MoreRelatedComparison Between Japan and Russia13811 Words   |  56 Pagesisland chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula Area: total: 377,915 sq km country comparison to the world: 61 land: 364,485 sq km water: 13,430 sq km note: includes Bonin Islands (Ogasawara-gunto), Daito-shoto, Minami-jima, Okino-tori-shima, Ryukyu Islands (Nansei-shoto), and Volcano Islands (Kazan-retto) Area - comparative: slightly smaller than California Country name: conventional long form: none conventional short