Final Blog Post

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan. Not only is it a mountain but also a volcano. Geologists believe that the volcano is still active to this day but the eruption of it is not expected any time soon. Mount Fuji is an example of a triple junction. Triple junction is when three different plate tectonics collide. The three tectonic plates that met each other came from Eurasia, the Philippines, and North America. They were called Amurian plate (Eurasia), Okhotsk plate (North America), lastly Filipino plate. This volcano is an extrusive volcanic landform which is tall and steep containing a rock type called basalt.

Cross Section of a Stratovolcano

 Distribution of tectonics plates and active volcanoes around Japan

Chances of lahars increases due to Ice caps.

In 10,000 years, Mount Fuji will erupt because the tectonic pressure will increase. Mount Fuji is still an active volcano so as time progress it will erupt more than once. Because of the many eruptions the volcano’s volcanic cone will decompose. Since it is so cold at the top of the volcanoes, ice caps and glaciers will be created at the peak of Mount Fuji which will make the top of the Mount Fuji be surround by volcanic mudflows on the slopes of the volcano. These are called lahars. When lahars flow down the volcano, it will destroy everything that is on the sides of Mount Fuji. With everything being destroyed by lahars, there is a great chance for mass wasting to happen, this will make the landscape expand in weathering. As Mount Fuji weathers away, the vent of the magma is going to harden. Since the magma hardened 

A volcano going through the lahar stage

In 100,000,000 years, the volcano that formed with the help of Mount Fuji will be the next Mount Fuji because of the leftovers of Mount Fuji and the area it is at as I said above. Since it is 100,000,000 years now, the landscape would just be a mountain because “volcanoes become inactive when there is no more molten magma for them to erupt. Volcanoes form when there is a heat source, either in the crust or below in the mantle, that heats up the rocks and melts them, creating magma that can be erupted through a volcano. Obviously, after a while the heat source might die down again, or maybe plate tectonics will push the heat source to a different area. With no more heat, all the magma at the volcano will solidify, and there will be nothing left to erupt. At this point, the volcano can be considered extinct.”

With 10,000, 1,000,000, and 100,000,000 years passing by, Mount Fuji will just be another large mountain standing in Japan after another volcano forms in its landscape.

Diagram of old volcano features and new volcano features building off of the old volcano

References

http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Battle/Build/VolcanicEx/Extrusive.html

http://www.earthonlinemedia.com/ebooks/tpe_3e/volcanic_landforms/outline.html

http://earthj12.imascientist.org.uk/2012/06/28/how-do-volcanoes-become-extinct/

https://prezi.com/zsfopfrdspcg/mt-fuji/

http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/north_asia/japan_tec.html

http://mail.colonial.net/~hkaiter/earth_science_images/MSH82_lahar_from_march_82_eruption_03-21-82_med.jpg

http://www.travelskyline.net/thumbs/mount_fuji-t2.jpg

http://intheplaygroundofgiants.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Figure-2.2.7.jpg
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/15/japan-mount-fuji-eruption-earthquake-pressure
http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1007/images/volcanic.gif
http://intheplaygroundofgiants.com/geology-of-central-oregon/the-geology-of-volcanoes-and-volcanism/