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Santorini
Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira ( Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the largest island of a small circular archipelago, which bears the same name and is the remnant of a caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 (28 sq mi) and a 2011 census population of 15,550. The municipality of Santorini includes the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia, as well as the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km2 (34.990 sq mi). Santorini is part of the Thira regional unit. The island was the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred about 3,60 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoan Eruption
The Minoan eruption was a catastrophic volcanic eruption that devastated the Aegean island of Thera (also called Santorini) circa 1600 BCE. It destroyed the Minoan settlement at Akrotiri, as well as communities and agricultural areas on nearby islands and the coast of Crete with subsequent earthquakes and tsunamis. With a VEI magnitude between 6 and 7, resulting in an ejection of approximately of dense-rock equivalent (DRE), the eruption was one of the largest volcanic events on Earth in human history. Since tephra from the Minoan eruption serves as a marker horizon in nearly all archaeological sites in the Eastern Mediterranean, its precise date is of high importance and has been fiercely debated among archaeologists and volcanologists for decades, without coming to a definite conclusion. Although there are no clear ancient records of the eruption, its plume and volcanic lightning may have been described in the Egyptian Tempest Stele. The Chinese '' Bamboo Annals'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Santorini Caldera
Santorini caldera is a large, mostly submerged 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 Santorini (classic Greek Thera), the main island, Therasia and Aspronisi at the periphery, and the Kameni islands at the center. It has been designated a Decade Volcano. Geography The caldera measures about , with high steep cliffs on three sides. There are two small volcanic islands at the center of the caldera, Nea ("New") Kameni and Palea ("Old") Kameni. The main island, Santorini has an area of , Therasia , and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni , Palea Kameni and Aspronisi . Santorini's high walls, draped by whitewashed villages, combined with a sunny climate and good observation conditions, have made it a magnet for volcanologists, as well as a highlight of tourism in the Aegean. Geology The volcanic complex of Santorini is the most active part of the Sout ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oia, Greece
Oia or Ia ( Greek: Οία, pronounced ) is a small village and former community in the South Aegean on the islands of Thira ( Santorini) and Therasia, in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it has been part of the municipality of Santorini, of which it is a municipal unit. It covers the whole island of Therasia and the northwesternmost part of Santorini, which it shares with the municipal unit of Santorini. The main street is named Nikolaou Nomikou. The population was 1,545 inhabitants at the 2011 census, and the land area is 19.449 km2. Oia was previously known as Apäno Meria (Απάνω Μεριά or Επάνω Μεριά, "upper side"), a name which still occurs locally as Pano Meria, and the inhabitants are still called Apanomerites (Απανωμερίτες). The Ancient Greek Oia was one of the two harbours of ancient Thera and was located in the southeast of the island, where Kamari is now. Oia reached the peak of prosperity in the late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akrotiri (prehistoric City)
Akrotiri (Greek: Ακρωτήρι, pronounced ) was a Cycladic Bronze Age settlement on the volcanic Greek island of Santorini (Thera). The settlement was destroyed in the Theran eruption sometime in the 16th century BC and buried in volcanic ash, which preserved the remains of fine frescoes and many objects and artworks. Akrotiri has been excavated since 1967 after earlier excavations on Santorini. History The earliest evidence for human habitation of Akrotiri can be traced back as early as the fifth millennium BC, when it was a small fishing and farming village. By the end of the third millennium, this community developed and expanded significantly. One factor for Akrotiri's growth may be the trade relations it established with other cultures in the Aegean, as evidenced in fragments of foreign pottery at the site. Akrotiri's strategic position on the primary sailing route between Cyprus and Minoan Crete also made it an important point for the copper trade, thus allowing it to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minoan Civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450BC until it ended around 1100BC, during the early Greek Dark Ages, part of a wider bronze age collapse around the Mediterranean. It represents the first advanced civilization in Europe, leaving behind a number of massive building complexes, sophisticated art, and writing systems. Its economy benefited from a network of trade around much of the Mediterranean. The civilization was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. The name "Minoan" derives from the mythical King Minos and was coined by Evans, who identified the site at Knossos with the labyrinth of the Minotaur. The Minoan civilization has been described as the earliest of its kind in Europe, and historian Will ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspronisi
Aspronisi (Greek: Ασπρονήσι) is an uninhabited island lying within the Santorini caldera. The island was originally formed by the massive Minoan eruption in the 2nd millennium BC, after which it was gradually built up by successive volcanic activity. The name Aspronisi, which means 'White Island' in Greek, is derived from the island being partially composed of white pumice.Schönrock, Dirk / Fohrer Eberhard: ''Santorini''. Michael Müller Verlag, 3., überarbeitete und aktualisierte Auflage, Erlangen 2006, . p. 242 Formation Aspronisi was formed through the gradual volcanic activity in the Santorini caldera, which itself is composed of four distinct shield volcanoes. The island was formed along with the current Santorini caldera during a massive eruption in the 2nd millennium BC that expelled 14 cubic miles (60 km3 ) of dense rock. Aspronisi was briefly a submarine volcano before the force of the eruption pushed the islet above the surface, after which dense laye ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nea Kameni
Nea Kameni is a small uninhabited Greek island of volcanic origin located in the Aegean Sea, within the flooded Santorini caldera. Nea Kameni and the neighbouring small island Palea Kameni (the new and old burnt islands) have formed over the past two millennia through repeated eruptions of dacite lava and ash. The Roman historian Cassius Dio records in the year 47 CE "This year a small islet, hitherto unknown, made an appearance close to the island of Thera." Cassius' report may refer to Palaia Kameni. Pliny the Elder reports a new island emerging on July 8, in the year of the consulship of M. Junius Silanus and L. Balbus, thus 19 CE. Major eruptions over the past 300 years took place in 1707–1712, 1866–1870, 1925–1928, and 1939–1941. The last small eruption happened in 1950 and involved lava dome extrusion. Nea Kameni is nearly round, and has a diameter of approximately 2 kilometers and an area of 3.4 km2. It is monitored closely by scientists from the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclades
The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The name refers to the islands ''around'' ("cyclic", κυκλάς) the sacred island of Delos. The largest island of the Cyclades is Naxos, however the most populated is Syros. History The significant Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Cycladic culture is best known for its schematic, flat sculptures carved out of the islands' pure white marble centuries before the great Middle Bronze Age Minoan civilization arose in Crete to the south. (These figures have been looted from burials to satisfy a thriving Cycladic antiquities market since the early 20th century.) A distinctive Neolithic culture amalgamating Anatolian and mainland Greek elements arose in the western Aegean before 4000 BCE, based on emmer and wild-type barley, sheep and goats, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Aegean Volcanic Arc
The South Aegean Volcanic Arc is a volcanic arc (chain of volcanoes) in the South Aegean Sea formed by plate tectonics. The prior cause was the subduction of the African plate beneath the Eurasian plate, raising the Aegean arc across what is now the north Aegean Sea. It was not yet the sea, nor an arc, or at least not the one it is today, nor was there a chain of volcanoes. In the Holocene the process of back-arc extension began, probably stimulated by pressure from the Arabian Plate compressing the region behind the arc. The extension deformed the region into its current configuration. First, the arc moved to the south and assumed its arcuate configuration. Second, the Aegean Sea opened behind the arc because the crust was thinned and weakened there. Third, magma broke through the thinned crust to form a second arc composed of a volcanic chain. And finally, the Aegean Sea Plate broke away from Eurasia in the new fault zone to the north. The extension is still ongoing. The cur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christiana Island
Christiana ( el, Χριστιανά) is a group of three volcanic Greek islands in the Cyclades. The group is located about 16 km (10 miles) southwest of Santorini and is made up of the islands Christiani (Χριστιανή, the largest one), Eschati (Εσχάτη) and Askania (Ασκανιά) belonging to the same submarine volcanic edifice, which is assumed to have been dormant since the Early Pleistocene. J. Preine, J. Karstens, C. Hübscher, P. Nomikou, F. Schmid, G.J. Crutchley, T.H. Druitt and D. Papanikolaou "Spatio-temporal evolution of the Christiana-Santorini-Kolumbo volcanic field, Aegean Sea", Geology, 2021. The island's area is about 2.35 km². All three islands are now uninhabited but on Christiani there are remains of human settlement dating back to Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palaia Kameni
Palea Kameni, also known as Palia Kameni, is a volcanic island within the Santorini Caldera. The island was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions that formed large deposits of pumice and dacite. The island's name translates to "Old Burnt Island". This Island is in the west of the Greek coast and is private territorium. It wasn't inhabited for 15000 years until it was bought in 1899 and sold in 1975. It is available for tourists though. The owners build various hotels and made multiple beaches public. History Palea Kameni was formed by a series of eruptions between 197 BCE and 47 CE. The appearance of the island was first noted in the journal of Roman scientist Cassius Dio, who wrote "This year 7 CEa small islet, hitherto unknown, made an appearance close to the island of Thera." The island was gradually built up by further volcanic activity, though outright eruptions ceased by the end of the 1st century CE. No signs of activity were reported on the island until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fira
Firá ( el, Φηρά, pronounced ) is the modern capital of the Greek Aegean island of Santorini (Thera). A traditional settlement,http://www.visitgreece.gr Greek National Tourism Organisation "Firá" derives its name from an alternative pronunciation of "Thíra", the ancient name of the island itself. Fira is a city of whitewashed houses built on the edge of the high caldera on the western edge of the semi-circular island of Thera. The two main museums of interest are the Archaeological Museum of Thera, east of the cable car entrance, and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera at the southeast corner of the White Orthodox Cathedral of Ypapanti , built on the site of an earlier church destroyed in the 1956 Amorgos earthquake. The town also hosts a number of churches, including the Cathedral of Ypapanti and the Three Bells of Fira. Access to Fira is mainly by roads on its eastern side, climbing from its port via the zigzag footpath on foot or on donkeys, or by riding the steep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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