When earthquakes split mountains: 6.4 magnitude quake leaves 20 meter crack in Mt. Fuji

July 11, 2012 – JAPAN – A 20-meter-long crack was found halfway up Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake hit on March 15, 2011, centered around eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, local authorities revealed Tuesday. They ruled out the possibility of an eruption. “No abnormalities have been observed regarding Mount Fuji and the mountain shows no signs of an eruption,” an official at the Meteorological Agency said, indicating the crack was caused not by volcanic activity but by the temblor. Both the width and depth of the crack were several centimeters, and it has subsequently been covered by sand and pebbles, according to the Yamanashi Prefectural Government. “Nothing has happened after more than a year (since the discovery of the crack), so Mount Fuji is probably not going to erupt,” said Shigeo Aramaki, head of the Yamanashi Institute of Environmental Sciences, who inspected the crack in June last year. –Japan Times     絶滅プロトコル

                          How a 5.1 magnitude earthquake split the Mount St. Helens volcano in 1980