UNZEN, MOUNT

Japanese Unzen-dake, volcano on central Shimabara Peninsula, western Kyushu, Japan. Mount Unzen is actually a group of composite volcanoes, the highest of which is Mount Fugen, at 4,462 feet (1,360 m). Mount Unzen underwent a major eruption in 1792 that killed as many as 15,000 people in what was probably the worst volcanic disaster in Japan's history. No major eruptions occurred subsequently until June 3, 1991, when an eruption forced the evacuation of thousands of nearby homes and killed 43 people. Unzen Hot Spring lies on Mount Unzen's slopes, and both form part of Unzen-Amakusa National Park.