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Santorini
Volcanoes
Santorini or Thira, has 3 very active
volcanoes, The New burn Island, and the old
burn Island which is in from of the capital
of Santorini Fira in the middle of the
ocean, The name of the third is Columbus
and is in the erea of Oia Village. The
destructive volcanic eruption of Thira has
become the most famous single event in the
Aegean before the fall of Troy. The eruption
would likely have caused a considerable
climate change for the eastern Mediterranean
region. It was one of the hugest volcanic
eruptions on Earth in the last few thousand
years. When the volcano erupted, about 1650
BC, it is said to have produced tidal waves
in excess of 200 metres which were sent
hitting the northern coast of Crete, causing
a violent devastation. Earthquakes were
activated and the ash and debris obstructed
the skies. It is not long after that the
Minoan civilization, once rulers of the
seas, disappeared.
After the eruption, all that remained of
round Santorini was the horse-shoe shaped
island we know today. The island was covered
in a layer of volcanic ash 30-40 metres
deep. Eruptions persisted in the 3rd century
BC when the island of Therasia was severed
from Santorini, and in the 2nd century BC
when the volcanic islet Palaia Kameni began
to appear in the bay. In 1707, eruptions
caused Nea Kameni to appear. Mild vibrations
are often felt on the island, but in 1950 a
severe earthquake produced considerable
devestation in Fira and Oia, and many of the
houses along the cliffs were destroyed.
New archaeological discoveries by a team of
international scientists in 2006 have showed
that the Santorini event was much more
massive than previously thought. It expelled
61 cubic kilometres of magma and rock into
Earth's atmosphere contrasted to previous
estimates of only 39 cubic kilometres in
1991. Only the Mount Tambora volcanic
eruption of 1815 (and possibly the eruption
at Lake Taupo of 181 CE) released more
material into the atmosphere in the past
5,000 years — at an estimated 100 cubic
kilometres.
You can still see evidence of this today,
but in many places it has added to the
interesting maze of architecture that
retains to the cliff face. The amazing dry
climate and continuous sunshine create year
around conditions which are perfect for
watching, photographs and videos under an
extraordinary variety of natural lights and
colours that give the visitor the
exceptional advantage of reaching the
interior of the volcano by boat.
For day trips, Volcano tours in Santorini volcano
click
here
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