NAGOYA - Ninoike, a 3,067 meter lake once shining in cobalt blue near the summit of Mount Ontake, has entirely dried up, leaving only mud in its place.
Takashiro Kunitomo from the Ontake Volcano Research Institute said, "Not much is known about Ninoike, but one theory is that it was created by a phreatic eruption. It is believed to have formed between 30,000 and 10,000 years ago."
The lake formed in a volcanic crater filled with water. But why has it disappeared?
Kunitomo explained, "It was buried by volcanic ash from the 2014 eruption."
In 2014, Mount Ontake experienced Japan's worst post-war volcanic disaster, with 58 people killed and 5 reported missing.
Over the past ten years, volcanic ash from that eruption has continued to flow in, erasing a lake that is thought to have existed for over 10,000 years.
Could the lake ever return to its former state?
"I think it would be difficult," Kunitomo said. "The quickest way would be another phreatic eruption that could create an opening in that spot, but that would also bring damage, which is something we don’t wish for."
Source: ANN
