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Santorini Volcano | John Seach
Greece
36.4 N, 25.39 E
summit elevation 564 m
shield volcanoes
Santorini erupted in 1600 BC and buried the city of Akrotiri and possibly gave rise to the legend of Atlantis.
Three islands remained after the eruption - Thera, Therasia, and Aspronisi.
Santorini caldera has a diameter 11 km N-S and 7.5 km E-W, with a depth of 390 m in the north. The 1950 eruption of Santorini produced a lava dome, lava flow, and explosive activity.
Santorini caldera 2014
Santorini 2016
Nea Kameni, Santorini volcano, Greece.
Santorini sunset
Santorini
Santorini
Santorini
Ruins of Akotiri, Santorini Island, Greece
2025 Earthquake Swarm
In February 2025 and earthquake swarm occurred 20 km NE of Santorini volcano. Many resident evacuated from the island, and schools were closed.
2011-2012 Unrest
In January 2011 Santorini started to wake from 60 years of inactivity. The episode began with a seismic swarm and radial deformation of the volcano. The unreast has been interpreted as radial inflation of the volcano by 5-9 cm by a magma source, 4 km below the northern half of the caldera.
Minoan Eruption
About 1650 BC
a series of Plinian eruptions at Santorini volcano expelled 40-60 cubic km of lava, and created a regional tsunami. This eruption was possibly the main factor in the destruction of the Minoan civilisation.
Further reading
Druitt, T.H., Edwards, L., Mellors, R.M., Pyle, D.M., Sparks, R.S.J., Lanphere, M., Davies, M. and Barreirio, B., 1999. Santorini volcano. Geological Society Memoir, 19.
Watkins, N.D., Sparks, R.S.J., Sigurdsson, H., Huang, T.C., Federman, A., Carey, S. and Ninkovich, D., 1978. Volume and extent of the Minoan tephra from Santorini Volcano: new evidence from deep-sea sediment cores. Nature, 271(5641), pp.122-126.
Nicholls, I.A., 1971. Petrology of Santorini Volcano, Cyclades, Greece. Journal of Petrology, 12(1), pp.67-119.
Santorini Volcano Eruptions
1950, 1939-41, 1925-28, 1866-70, 1707-11, 1650, 1570-73, 726, 46-47 AD
197 BC, 1600 BC