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Santorini

Shield volcano · Greece · 367m

The steep inner walls of Santorini drop steeply into the caldera bay. Pyroclastic flow deposits from four caldera-forming eruptions dating back to 100,000 years ago are exposed in the caldera walls in this N-looking view. The youngest caldera was formed about 3,500 years ago during the Minoan eruption of Santorini. The flat-topped peak on the left skyline is Skaros, a remnant of a shield volcano constructed within a previous caldera.
The steep inner walls of Santorini drop steeply into the caldera bay. Pyroclastic flow deposits from four caldera-forming eruptions dating back to 100,000 years ago are exposed in the caldera walls in this N-looking view. The youngest caldera was formed about 3,500 years ago during the Minoan eruption of Santorini. The flat-topped peak on the left skyline is Skaros, a remnant of a shield volcano constructed within a previous caldera. · Photo: Photo by Lee Siebert, 1994 (Smithsonian Institution). · Wikimedia Commons
Type
Shield volcano
Country
Greece
Region
European Volcanic Regions / Hellenic Volcanic Arc
Elevation
367m
Coordinates
36.404, 25.396
Last eruption
1950
Tectonic setting
Subduction zone / Continental crust (> 25 km)
Landform
Shield
Major rock type
Dacite
Geological summary

Santorini (Thera), in the Aegean Sea, has steep-walled caldera rim with villages that overlook an active volcanic island in the center of a caldera bay. The circular island group is composed of overlapping shield volcanoes cut by at least four partially overlapping calderas. The oldest southern caldera was formed about 180,000 years before present (BP), followed by the Skaros caldera about 70,000 BP, and then the Cape Riva caldera about 21,000 BP. The youngest caldera formed about 3,600 BP (around 1600 BCE) during the Late-Bronze-Age Minoan eruption that forced abandonment of the island. Post-Minoan eruptions beginning in 197 BCE constructed a series of lava domes and flows that form two islands near the center of the caldera. The latest eruption produced a small lava dome and flow in 1950, accompanied by explosive activity.

From Wikipedia

The Santorini caldera is a large, mostly submerged volcanic caldera located in the southern Aegean Sea, 120 kilometers north of Crete in Greece. Visible above water is the circular Santorini island group, consisting of the main island of Santorini, Therasia and Aspronisi at the periphery, and the Kameni islands at the center. It has been designated one of the world's sixteen Decade Volcanoes.

Wikipedia · CC BY-SA · Read full article →

Eruption history

Summary (VEI over time)
Click a bar to see individual eruptions
1610 BCE~1412 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 7226 BCE~28 BCE · 1 eruptions · max VEI 328 BCE~170 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 3566~763 · 1 eruptions · max VEI 41554~1752 · 2 eruptions · max VEI 31752~1950 · 5 eruptions · max VEI 21610 BCE819 BCE1709611752

Detailed timeline

  1. 1950VEI 2Observed
    1950-01-10 – 1950-02-02
    Nea Kameni (Liatsikas dome)
  2. 1939VEI 2Observed
    1939-08-20 – 1941-07-02
    Nea Kameni (Triton, Ktenas, Fouque domes)
  3. 1928VEI 2Observed
    1928-01-23 – 1928-03-17
    Nea Kameni (Naftilos dome)
  4. 1925VEI 2Observed
    1925-08-11 – 1926-05
    Nea Kameni (Dafni dome)
  5. 1866VEI 2Observed
    1866-01-26 – 1870-10-15
    Georgios, Afroessa and Reka domes
  6. 1707VEI 3Observed
    1707-05-23 – 1711-09-14
    Nea Kameni
  7. 1570VEI 3Observed
    1570 – 1573
    Mikri Kameni
  8. 726VEI 4Observed
    726-07-15 – Ongoing
    NE side of Thia Island
  9. 46VEI 3Observed
    46-12-31 – 47-02-01
    Thia Island
  10. 197 BCEVEI 3Observed
    BCE 197 – Ongoing
    Hiera Island
  11. 1610 BCE (±14 yrs)VEI 7Geological estimate
    BCE 1610 – Ongoing

External links

⚠ For reference only. Not for emergency response.