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Unzen-Amakusa NP, Nagasaki
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From 1991 to 1994, Heisei-Shinzan grew through 13 successive lava lobes. Sticky lava pushed out in new tongues, while unstable edges repeatedly collapsed—a summit that changed shape as it grew.
Fugen-dake used to be Unzen’s highest point at 1,359 m; the new lava dome rose past it. At 1,483 m, Heisei-Shinzan is now the highest peak in both Unzen and Nagasaki Prefecture.
Born in 1991, Heisei-Shinzan became a national Natural Monument in 2004 because its formation was witnessed and documented. IUGS later included it among its 100 Geological Heritage Sites.
At its peak, 300,000–400,000 m³ of sticky dacite emerged each day. By 1995, the eruption had produced about 200 million m³ of lava—an immense supply packed into one summit.
The name came exactly 5 years after the first lava dome appeared: Shimabara and Obama named it Heisei-Shinzan on May 20, 1996, to commemorate both the long disaster and the recovery.
In 2004, researchers drilled diagonally for nearly 2 km from a site on Heisei-Shinzan’s northwest flank to reach the 1990–95 magma conduit. The cores included volcanic material linked to the new mountain.
Nearby Taruki Plateau was struck by a 1993 pyroclastic flow. After the ground cooled, moss and weeds returned; surviving trees and volunteer plantings now share the recovering landscape with native plants and wildlife.
