Datong Volcano
Updated: Apr 20, 2024 13:40 GMT -
cinder cones 1882 m / 6,175 ft
Shanxi Province, Northern China, 40°N / 113.28°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
Shanxi Province, Northern China, 40°N / 113.28°E
Current status: normal or dormant (1 out of 5)
The Datong volcanoes (Datong-Fengzen volcanic field) are located 3 km northeast of Datong City at Xigelaoshan in North China west of Beijing.
The volcanic field contains approx. 80 cinder cones and small lava domes. The most notable cones are Heishan (1,422 meters above sea level), Jinshan (1,368 meters above sea level), Langwoshan (1,028 meters above sea level) and Gelaoshan (1,276 meters above sea level). The well-preserved Jinshan cone is a major tourist attraction of the area.
There are unconfirmed records of historic eruptions around 450 AD.
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Datong volcano eruptions: 450 AD (?), 60,000 years ago, 340,000 years ago
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Background
The Datong-Fengzhen volcano group, also known as Ta-T'ung or Fanjiatun, is located at the intersection of two regional fault zones. The volcanic field contains about 80 volcanic vents, including 30 cinder cones and small lava domes.The central Datong group contains 12 cones. An historical eruption reported during the 5th century (Chen 1986) has been shown to have originated from spontaneous combustion of a Jurassic coal seam (Zhang 1989, pers. comm.). The 13 youngest cones of the volcanic field have been Potassium-Argon dated at 0.34-0.37 million years.
- Datong Volcanoes (www.chinaculture.org)
- Wei et al (2003) "Three active volcanoes in China and their hazards", Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, v. 21 (5), pp. 515–526
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