Mount Kinbō (Kumamoto)

For the taller mountain in Honshu, see Mount Kinpu

Mount Kinbō (金峰山, Kinbō-san) or Mount Kinpō (金峰山, Kinpō-san) is a stratovolcano in the west of Kumamoto city, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is an extinct stratovolcano and lava dome. Mount Kinbō overlooks the city of Kumamoto and is used for sightseeing and for radio and TV broadcast antennas.

Mount Kinbō
金峰山
Viewed from the E.
Highest point
Elevation	665.2 m (2,182 ft)
Coordinates	32°48′50″N 130°38′20″E
Geography
Mount Kinbō Nishi-ku, Kumamoto, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan
Geology
Mountain type	Stratovolcano, Lava dome
Last eruption	0.2 Ma BP
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike

Geology

Older than nearby Mount Aso, it formed over the past 100 million years. Extensive volcanic activity took place 56 million years to 50 million years ago. The last eruption took place from 200,000 years to 150,000 years ago. In 1889 a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck beneath the mountain. In 2016 the foreshock of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes also struck beneath Mount Kinbō.

Massif of Kinbo Volcano

Mount Kinbo in the narrow sense

History

Master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi wrote parts of his Book of Five Rings while staying on the mountain. Most of the mountain now lies within Kinpōzan Prefectural Natural Park.

See also

• List of volcanoes in Japan

External links

• Media related to Mount Kinpo (Kumamoto) at Wikimedia Commons
• Kinbo (Kinpo) Zan - Geological Survey of Japan
• "Kinpo". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-06-25.