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=== Volcanism === Volcanism on Santorini is due to the [[Hellenic subduction zone]] southwest of Crete. The [[oceanic crust]] of the northern margin of the [[African Plate]] is being subducted under Greece and the Aegean Sea, which is thinned [[continental crust]]. The subduction compels the formation of the [[Hellenic arc]], which includes Santorini and other volcanic centres, such as [[Methana Volcano|Methana]], [[Milos]], and [[Kos]].<ref name=druitt>{{Cite book |publisher=Geological Society |isbn=978-1-86239-048-5 |volume=19 |last=Druitt |first=Timothy H. |author2=L. Edwards |author3=R.M. Mellors |author4=D.M. Pyle |author5=R.S.J. Sparks |author6=M. Lanphere |author7=M. Davies |author8=B. Barriero |title=Santorini Volcano |location=London |series=Geological Society Memoir |year=1999}}</ref> [[File:Santorini 3D version 1.gif|thumb|upright=1.1|left|Three-dimensional [[Computer-generated imagery|CGI]] [[aerial view|aerial spinning view]] of Santorini island]] [[File:Santorini NeaKameni tango7174.jpg|thumb|Volcanic craters at Santorini (2011)]] The island is the result of repeated sequences of [[shield volcano]] construction followed by [[caldera]] collapse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.decadevolcano.net/santorini/santorini_volcanism.htm |title=Geology of Santorini |work=Volcano Discovery |access-date=7 April 2012 |archive-date=30 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170530074224/http://www.decadevolcano.net/santorini/santorini_volcanism.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> The inner coast around the caldera is a sheer precipice of more than {{cvt|300|m}} drop at its highest, and exhibits the various layers of solidified lava on top of each other, and the main towns perched on the crest. The ground then slopes outwards and downwards towards the outer perimeter, and the outer beaches are smooth and shallow. Beach sand colour depends on which geological layer is exposed; there are beaches with sand or pebbles made of solidified lava of various colours: such as the Red Beach, the Black Beach and the White Beach. The water at the darker coloured beaches is significantly warmer because the lava acts as a heat absorber. The area of Santorini incorporates a group of islands created by volcanoes, spanning across Thera, Thirasia, Aspronisi, Palea, and Nea Kameni. [[File:Viewing Fira from Nea Kameni.JPG|thumb|Fira from [[Nea Kameni]] volcanic Island]] Santorini has erupted many times, with varying degrees of explosivity. There have been at least twelve large explosive eruptions, of which at least four were [[caldera]]-forming.<ref name="druitt" /> The most famous eruption is the [[Minoan eruption]], detailed below. Eruptive products range from [[basalt]] all the way to [[rhyolite]], and the rhyolitic products are associated with the most explosive eruptions. The earliest eruptions, many of which were [[submarine eruption|submarine]], were on the Akrotiri Peninsula, and active between 650,000 and 550,000 years ago.<ref name="druitt" /> These are [[geochemistry|geochemically]] distinct from the later volcanism, as they contain [[amphibole]]s. Over the past 360,000 years there have been two major cycles, each culminating with two caldera-forming eruptions. The cycles end when the magma evolves to a rhyolitic composition, causing the most explosive eruptions. In between the caldera-forming eruptions are a series of sub-cycles. Lava flows and small explosive eruptions build up [[volcanic cone|cones]], which are thought to impede the flow of magma to the surface.<ref name="druitt" /> This allows the formation of large magma chambers, in which the magma can evolve to more [[silicic]] compositions. Once this happens, a large explosive eruption destroys the cone. The Kameni islands in the centre of the lagoon are the most recent example of a cone built by this volcano, with much of them hidden beneath the water. [[File:ISS017-E-5037 lrg.jpg|thumb|Photo taken from the [[ISS]] of the island and caldera in 2008]] ==== Minoan eruption ==== {{Main|Minoan eruption}} During the [[Bronze Age]], Santorini was the site of the [[Minoan eruption]], one of the largest volcanic eruptions in human history. It was centred on a small island just north of the existing island of Nea Kameni in the centre of the caldera; the caldera itself was formed several hundred thousand years ago by the collapse of the centre of a circular island, caused by the emptying of the magma chamber during an eruption. It has been filled several times by [[ignimbrite]] since then, and the process repeated itself, most recently 21,000 years ago. The northern part of the caldera was refilled by the volcano, then collapsed once more during the Minoan eruption. Before the Minoan eruption, the caldera formed a nearly continuous ring with the only entrance between the islet of Aspronisi and Thera; the eruption destroyed the sections of the ring between Aspronisi and Therasia, and between Therasia and Thera, creating two new channels. On Santorini, a deposit of white [[tephra]] thrown from the eruption is up to {{cvt|60|m|ft}} thick, overlying the soil marking the ground level before the eruption, and forming a layer divided into three fairly distinct bands indicating different phases of the eruption. Archaeological discoveries in 2006 by a team of international scientists revealed that the Santorini event was much more massive than previously thought; it expelled {{cvt|61|km3|cumi}} of magma and rock into the Earth's atmosphere, compared to previous estimates of only {{cvt|39|km3|cumi}} in 1991,<ref name="Rhode Island">{{cite web|url=http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=3654 |title= Santorini eruption much larger than originally believed|publisher=[[University of Rhode Island]] Department of Communications and Marketing |url-status=dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150713045841/http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/?id=3654 |archive-date=2015-07-13}}</ref><ref name="Lovett-2006">{{cite web|url= http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060823-thera-volcano.html|title=Atlantis Eruption Twice as Big as Previously Believed, Study Suggests|first=Richard A.|last=Lovett|date=23 August 2006|publisher=[[National Geographic]] News|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302212141/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/08/060823-thera-volcano.html |archive-date=2 March 2009}}</ref> producing an estimated {{cvt|100|km3|cumi}} of tephra. Only the [[Mount Tambora]] volcanic eruption of 1815, the [[Hatepe eruption|181 AD eruption]] of the [[TaupΕ Volcano|Taupo Volcano]], and possibly [[Baekdu Mountain]]'s 946 AD eruption have released more material into the atmosphere during the past 5,000 years. [[File:SantoriniPartialPano.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|center|{{center|Partial panoramic view of the [[Santorini caldera]], taken from Oia}}]] The Minoan eruption has been considered as possible inspiration for ancient stories including [[Atlantis]] and the [[The Exodus|Exodus]]. The content of the stories is not supported by current archaeological research, but remain popular in [[pseudohistory]] and [[pseudoarchaeology]].{{fact|date=May 2025}} ==== Post-Minoan volcanism ==== Post-Minoan eruptive activity is concentrated on the Kameni islands, in the centre of the lagoon. They have been formed since the Minoan eruption, and the first of them broke the surface of the sea in 197 BC.<ref name="druitt" /> Nine subaerial eruptions are recorded in the historical record since that time, with the most recent ending in 1950. In 1707, an undersea volcano breached the sea surface, forming the current centre of activity at Nea Kameni in the centre of the lagoon, and eruptions centred on it continue β the twentieth century saw three such, the last in 1950. Santorini was also struck by a devastating earthquake in 1956. Although the volcano is dormant at the present time, at the current active crater (there are several former craters on Nea Kameni), steam and [[carbon dioxide]] are emitted. Small tremors and reports of strange gaseous odours over the course of 2011 and 2012 prompted satellite radar technological analyses and these revealed the source of the symptoms; the magma chamber under the volcano was swollen by a rush of molten rock by 10 to 20 million cubic metres between January 2011 and April 2012, which also caused parts of the island's surface to rise out of the water by a reported 8 to 14 centimetres.<ref name="NG">{{cite web |title=Santorini Bulges as Magma Balloons Underneath |author=Brian Handwerk |publisher=[[National Geographic Society]] |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/09/120912-magma-balloon-lava-santorini-volcano-science/ |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=19 September 2012 |archive-date=20 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920041614/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/09/120912-magma-balloon-lava-santorini-volcano-science |url-status=dead}}</ref> Scientists say that the injection of molten rock was equivalent to 20 years' worth of regular activity.<ref name="NG" />{{clear left}} At the beginning of February 2025, there were [[2025 Santorini earthquakes|hundreds of minor earthquakes]] up to [[Seismic magnitude scales|magnitude]] 5 near Santorini, mostly in an area around the tiny islet of [[Anydros]], north-east of Santorini. About 9,000 people left the island out of a population of 15,500 in the face of seismic activity that could last weeks. The tremors were attributed to [[tectonic plate]] movements rather than volcanic activity.<ref>{{cite news| last2=Papanikolaou | first1=Ian|last1=Aikman|first2=Nikos | last3=Stallard | first3=Esme | title=Thousands evacuate Santorini after earthquakes shake Greek island | publisher=BBC News | date=4 February 2025 | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjde94dnj08o}}</ref>
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