Will Mount Fuji Ever Blow Its Top?

[dArKeR]

Five huge explosions rattled the magma dome below Mount Fuji on Thursday as part of an experiment to glean insights into when Japan's most famous volcano might erupt again.

The underground blasts, each of 1,100 pounds of explosives, triggered mini earthquakes that will help scientists map the magma bubbling beneath and help gauge the likelihood of an eruption, said Keiji Doi of Tokyo University's Earthquake Research Institute.

"This is very important research," he said. "When the next eruption will happen is very difficult to forecast, but for these 300 years we've been waiting and waiting."

Snowcapped Mount Fuji is listed as an active volcano with a moderate risk of eruption. It last erupted in 1707, sprinkling Tokyo with ash.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/12/tech/main572992.shtml

[Vogon_Glory]

1. Mount Fuji Doesn't Worry Me...

Mount Fuji doesn't worry me. Mount Ranier does. Mount Ranier may technically be dormant but it is geologically active. If it erupts, it will devastate a good chunk of Tacoma and surrounding areas of Washington state.