How many times did Myojin Knoll volcano erupt?

Myojin Knoll Volcano

Updated: Oct 28, 2025 23:39 GMT - refresh

submarine volcano

Izu Islands (Japan), 32.1°N / 139.85°E

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Summit height: -360 m / -1,181 ft

Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)

Myojin Knoll volcano is a large submarine caldera between Aoga-shima and Bayonnaise Rocks volcanoes in the Izu-Bonin arc. The volcano contains a 6-7 km wide and up to 900 m deep caldera with steep walls.
The highest point on the western caldera rim is a pumice-mantled remnant of the cone before the caldera formation, and reaches to a depth of 360 m. The eruption that formed the caldera could have been only a few thousand years ago.

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News/Updates | Earthquakes

Typical eruption style: explosive
Myojin Knoll volcano eruptions: unknown

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Background

The walls of the caldera, also known as Kita-Bayonnaise (North Bayonnaise) reveal rhyolitic lava flows, shallow intrusions, and volcaniclastic deposits. A voluminous blanket of coarse rhyolitic pumice from the caldera-forming eruption mantles the caldera rim and its outer flanks.
Post-caldera eruptions formed a lava dome that rises 250 m above the caldera floor. The age of the caldera is not known, but was considered by Fiske et al. (2001) to perhaps be as young as a few thousand years. An active hydrothermal vent field lies on the eastern caldera floor and has produced a polymetallic sulfide deposit from vent chimneys up to 30 m high that emit fluids as hot as 278 degrees C.
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Reference cited:
Fiske R S, Naka J, Iizasa K, Yuasa M, Klaus A (2001) "Submarine silicic caldera at the front of the Izu-Bonin arc, Japan: voluminous seafloor eruptions of rhyolite pumice.", Geol Soc Amer Bull, 113, pp 813-824

(from: Smithsonian / GVP volcano information)

Significant volcanic eruptions: Myojin Knoll volcano

In the past 10,000 years, Myojin Knoll has had only one confirmed historic eruption ###WHEN1###|only one confirmed historic eruption ###WHEN1### and one ###WHEN2### inferred from geological evidence|only one confirmed historic eruption ###WHEN1###, but at least ###NUM_INFERRED### eruptions can be inferred from geological evidence|at least ###NUM_CONFIRMED### confirmed eruptions, all documented by historical records or observations|at least ###NUM_CONFIRMED### confirmed volcanic eruptions, out of which ###NUM_HISTORIC### are documented by historical records, while the others can be inferred from geological evidence.
No historic eruptions are known from Myojin Knoll volcano, but at least one eruption ###WHEN2### can be inferred from geological evidence|evidence from at least ###NUM_CONFIRMED### eruptions during the past 10,000 years can be found in the geological record.

The table below lists all known eruptions (date in bold face) of Myojin Knoll volcano in historic times and during the past 10,000 years. Updates on the most recent volcanic activity of Myojin Knoll can be found on the news page of Myojin Knoll volcano.

Date	Note	VEI	Deaths	Damage
1953 Mar 25 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2			Info
1953 Mar 25: Start Date: September 16, 1952; End Date: October 1953; VEI 2. (reference #2432) The 1952-1953 eruption involved three phases of dome growth, each of which formed a small island (or islands), and approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions, which in turn destroyed the domes and repeatedly disrupted the rubbly summit of the volcano. (reference #5384) Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #5384 Fiske, R S; Cashman, K V; Shibata, A; Watanabe, K (1998): Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953. Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 262-275. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1953 Mar 11 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2			Info
1953 Mar 11: Start Date: September 16, 1952; End Date: October 1953; VEI 2. (reference #2432) The 1952-1953 eruption involved three phases of dome growth, each of which formed a small island (or islands), and approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions, which in turn destroyed the domes and repeatedly disrupted the rubbly summit of the volcano. (reference #5384) Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #5384 Fiske, R S; Cashman, K V; Shibata, A; Watanabe, K (1998): Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953. Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 262-275. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1952 Sep 26 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2			Info
1952 Sep 26: Start Date: September 16, 1952; End Date: October 1953; VEI 2. (reference #2432) The 1952-1953 eruption involved three phases of dome growth, each of which formed a small island (or islands), and approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions, which in turn destroyed the domes and repeatedly disrupted the rubbly summit of the volcano. (reference #5384) Cited references #414 Soloviev, S.L., and Ch.N. Go (1974): A catalogue of tsunamis on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 173-1968. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 439 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5077, 1984, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS2, 447 p.] #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #5384 Fiske, R S; Cashman, K V; Shibata, A; Watanabe, K (1998): Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953. Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 262-275. #13558 Dietz, R.S., Sheehy, M.J. (1954): Transpacific detection of Myojin volcanic explosions by underwater sound. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 65, 941-965. #13559 Nakano, M., Unoki, S., Hanzawa, M., Marumo, R., Fukuoka, J. (1954): Oceanographic features of a submarine eruption that destroyed the Kaiyo-Maru No. 5. Sears Foundation. Journal of Marine Research 13, 48–66. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1952 Sep 24 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2	31	light	Info
1952 Sep 24: Start Date: September 16, 1952; End Date: October 1953; VEI 2. (reference #2432) 1952, September 24. The ship "Kiyo Maru No 5" of the Japanese hydrographic service, which had come out to study the eruption, was lost in the eruption of September 24. (reference #414) 1952, September 24. Research ship Kaiyo-maru, while over central submarine dome Myojin-sho, sunk by explosion; all 31 on board killed. (reference #9675) 31 members of the crew of the No. 5 Kaiyomaru observation, belonging to the Maritime Safety Agency Hydrographic Department and was conducting research at the time, were killed. (reference #12936) No discussion of the 1952-1953 Myo3msho eruption would be complete without acknowledgement of the tragedy that befell the Japanese survey ship No. 5 Kaiyo-maru. At approximately 12:20 p.m. JST on 24 September 1952 the ship approached the temporarily quiescent Myojinsho and was shattered by a large phreatomagmatic explosion, killing all 31 people aboard... The 1952-1953 eruption involved three phases of dome growth, each of which formed a small island (or islands), and approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions, which in turn destroyed the domes and repeatedly disrupted the rubbly summit of the volcano. (reference #5384) Cited references #414 Soloviev, S.L., and Ch.N. Go (1974): A catalogue of tsunamis on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 173-1968. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 439 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5077, 1984, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS2, 447 p.] #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #5384 Fiske, R S; Cashman, K V; Shibata, A; Watanabe, K (1998): Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953. Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 262-275. #9675 Siebert, Lee, Tom Simkin, Paul Kimberly (2010): Fatalities & Evacuations, Volcanoes of the World, Third Edition, Geoscience Press, Inc., University of California Press, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., p. 329-347. #12936 Japan Meteorological Agency and Volcanological Society of Japan (2013): National Catalogue of the Active Volcanoes in Japan (fourth edition, English version). Japan Meteorological Agency. [accessed May 20, 2021] Link #13558 Dietz, R.S., Sheehy, M.J. (1954): Transpacific detection of Myojin volcanic explosions by underwater sound. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 65, 941-965. #13559 Nakano, M., Unoki, S., Hanzawa, M., Marumo, R., Fukuoka, J. (1954): Oceanographic features of a submarine eruption that destroyed the Kaiyo-Maru No. 5. Sears Foundation. Journal of Marine Research 13, 48–66. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1952 Sep 23 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2			Info
1952 Sep 23: Start Date: September 16, 1952; End Date: October 1953; VEI 2. (reference #2432) The 1952-1953 eruption involved three phases of dome growth, each of which formed a small island (or islands), and approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions, which in turn destroyed the domes and repeatedly disrupted the rubbly summit of the volcano. (reference #5384) Cited references #414 Soloviev, S.L., and Ch.N. Go (1974): A catalogue of tsunamis on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 173-1968. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 439 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5077, 1984, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS2, 447 p.] #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #5384 Fiske, R S; Cashman, K V; Shibata, A; Watanabe, K (1998): Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953. Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 262-275. #13558 Dietz, R.S., Sheehy, M.J. (1954): Transpacific detection of Myojin volcanic explosions by underwater sound. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 65, 941-965. #13559 Nakano, M., Unoki, S., Hanzawa, M., Marumo, R., Fukuoka, J. (1954): Oceanographic features of a submarine eruption that destroyed the Kaiyo-Maru No. 5. Sears Foundation. Journal of Marine Research 13, 48–66. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1952 Sep 17 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2			Info
1952 Sep 17: Reference #13558: Visual observations during 17 September and on the morning of 18 September showed that lava was being extruded quietly, thus producing a large steam cloud, but no large explosions were seen. This explains therefore, why no explosion was detected at the Sofar station which could be correlated with the atmospherics detected at 1503 and 1517 on 17 September. Four explosions, none of which were of large magnitude, occurred on 17 September. The longest group commenced at 0611 and lasted 15 minutes. Cited references #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #13558 Dietz, R.S., Sheehy, M.J. (1954): Transpacific detection of Myojin volcanic explosions by underwater sound. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 65, 941-965. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K
1952 Sep 16 (eruptive episode 1952 Sep 16 - 1953 Oct 31)	Tsunami recorded	2			Info
1952 Sep 16: Start Date: September 16, 1952; End Date: October 1953; VEI 2. (reference #2432) The 1952-1953 eruption involved three phases of dome growth, each of which formed a small island (or islands), and approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions, which in turn destroyed the domes and repeatedly disrupted the rubbly summit of the volcano. (reference #5384) Cited references #414 Soloviev, S.L., and Ch.N. Go (1974): A catalogue of tsunamis on the western shore of the Pacific Ocean [dates include 173-1968. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Nauka Publishing House, Moscow, 439 p. [Canadian Translation of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences no. 5077, 1984, translation available from Canada Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, National Research Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1A OS2, 447 p.] #2432 Venzke, E., R.W. Wunderman, L. McClelland, T. Simkin, J.F. Luhr, L. Siebert, and G. Mayberry (eds.) (2002-): Global Volcanism, 1968 to the Present. Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcanism Program Digital Information Series, GVP-4 (http://www.volcano.si.edu/reports/). #5384 Fiske, R S; Cashman, K V; Shibata, A; Watanabe, K (1998): Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952-1953. Bulletin of Volcanology, vol. 59, no. 4, p. 262-275. #13558 Dietz, R.S., Sheehy, M.J. (1954): Transpacific detection of Myojin volcanic explosions by underwater sound. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 65, 941-965. #13559 Nakano, M., Unoki, S., Hanzawa, M., Marumo, R., Fukuoka, J. (1954): Oceanographic features of a submarine eruption that destroyed the Kaiyo-Maru No. 5. Sears Foundation. Journal of Marine Research 13, 48–66. Source: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Earthquake Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K

Remark:

Our list of volcanic eruptions closely follows the database of eruptions of the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP), the internationally most recognized data source for volcanic eruptions, but also includes significant eruptive episodes or related volcano events. "Volcanic eruptions" are usually to be understood as sequences of individual eruptive episodes that can follow each other, or even overlap (if several vents are involved), and can last many years, decades or even longer. For example, the current activity of Stromboli volcano is understood as a single eruption that has been ongoing since 1934.

Sources: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), Global Significant Volcanic Eruptions Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K | Global Volcanism Project / Smithsonian Institution

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Myojin Knoll Volcano Maps

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