Changbaishan

946 Eruption of Changbaishan

946 · VEI 7

Changbaishan in North Korea erupted in 946 with a Volcanic Explosivity Index of 7.

Where it erupted

Changbaishan, North Korea.

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The eruption

Date
946
Volcano
Changbaishan, stratovolcano
Volcanic Explosivity Index
7, colossal (eruption column over 25 km)
Location
41.980° N, 128.080° E

The toll

The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this eruption.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

Exact VEI and date unknown, but likely VEI 7 based on tephra volume of 9.6 ± 2.0 x 1010 m3. Year is 1000 +/40 based on corrected radiocarbon dating.

One of the world's largest known Holocene explosive eruptions took place here about 946 CE, depositing rhyolitic and trachytic tephra as far away as northern Japan and forming in part the present caldera. Minor historical eruptions have been recorded since the 15th century.

More

Every eruption in 946The 900sChangbaishanEarthquakes near Changbaishan

Sources

Volcanoes and significant eruptions from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. Volcano numbers are the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program’s. NCEI event 5207.