Many basaltic monogenetic volcanoes forming groups are distributed on Fukue Island, the largest island of the Goto Islands. The Onidake volcano group, 8×10 km across, is one of the monogenetic volcano groups in the island. It contains eleven monogenetic volcanoes, namely, Daienji, Koba, Nagate, Masuda, Shimosakiyama, Hinodake, Kamiozu, Shirodake, Sakiyamabana, Midake-Usudake, and Onidake, in chronological order. K-Ar and 14C dating results show that these volcanoes were active during 0.5-0.018 Ma. The average interval of monogenetic volcano-forming eruption is fifty thousand to thirty thousand years, while a long interval of about one hundred thousand years exists between 0.25 and 0.15 Ma. By long interval, the group is divided into older volcanoes, Daienji, Koba, Nagate, and Masuda, and younger volcanoes, Shimosakiyama, Hinodake, Kamiozu, Shirodake, Sakiyamabana, Midake-Usudake, and Onidake.
At about 0.42 Ma, the activities of the older volcanoes started with Daienji volcano, which produced a lava flow in the north area. It was covered by thick lava flows of Koba volcano at about 0.38 Ma. During or shortly after the activity of Koba volcano, Nagate shield volcano with two small scoria cones became active in the northeastern area. At about 0.30 Ma, in the western area, Masuda volcano erupted to form a lava plateau and two scoria cones.
After 0.15 Ma, in the central area, the intermittent activities of younger volcanoes began with lava flows from Shimosakiyama volcano, which was covered soon by Hinodake volcano composed of three lava flows and one scoria cone. Two small cinder cones with a lava flow, Shirodake and Kamiozu volcanoes, erupted on the northern part of Hinodake volcano. At about 0.03 Ma, at the southeastern end, Midake-Usudake volcano, erupted with three cindercone-forming scoria falls and five small plateau-forming lava flows covering an undated scoria cone, Sakiyamabana.
At 0.018 Ma, the latest eruption of the group, Onidake volcano, commenced in the central area, the first phase of which was the Abunze lava flow originating from welded scoria falls or a mixture of lava and scoria fall into the lava ponds in craters. Simultaneously, the scoria falls generating Abunze lava flow contributed the formation of Osako scoria cone, which partially collapsed shortly afterwards, probably because Abunze lava carried the parts away. In the second phase, Onidake scoria falls covered a large area of 5×5 km, while Onidake scoria cone was formed in the proximal area. The third phase consisted of five lava flows, Ohma lava 1, 2, and 3 and Onidake lava 1 and 2, all of which erupted from two summit craters of Onidake cone and covered the northern and western foothills of the volcano.
