On December 16, 1988, after 26 years of dormancy since the last eruption in 1962, Tokachi-dake began to erupt from the 62-II crater. The eruption started with phreatic explosions. Then, on December 19, the activity changed into phreatomagmatic explosions of Vulcanian type and continued intermittently until March 5, 1989. Although the composition of the essential ejecta, mafic andesite, is similar to those of 1926 and 1962 eruptions, the mode of the present eruption is considerably diffrent The present eruption consists of a series of 23 discrete cannon-like explosions, being frequently accompanied with small-scale pyrcclastic surges and flows. The total volume of ejecta amounts to approximately 6×105 m3, of which about 20% is essential ejecta. A complete sequence of events was compiled and distribution maps of the ash-fall, ballistic blocks, and pyroclastic surges and flows were drawn for each of the larger eruptions. The pyrrolastic surges and flows of the present eruption were small scale, low temperature pyroclastic flows, rich in accessory clasts and unaccompanied by sector collapse. Therefore, the sudden melting of snow causing disastrous mudflows, as in the case of the 1926 eruption, fortunately did not occur.
