Santorini, Page 4 ..

"Dick's Turn"

There are about 2,000 Greek islands. Santorini is the only one that's a volcano.

We've referred to the "volcano," and "caldera," but haven't explained what we mean or what you actually see in the pictures. 

This is a map of Santorini and environs. Look at it, and imagine that instead of being one big island on the right, one in the middle and one on the left, it was all one solid oval-shaped land mass. Then imagine that, seen from the side, it was a volcano, a self-made mountain. It was created over millions of years by molten lava being regurgitatedfrom the bowels of the earth,  It cooled and hardened, then the volcano spit up some more and went through the drill, over and over again. By the 17th century BC, it rose perhaps 4,000 feet out of the sea. That's how it once was.

Then, one day the volcano blew itself to smithereens in the biggest explosion that ever happened. Eighty cubic kilometers of matter flew into the sky, leaving behind only a part of the rim. The big piece on the right, which today is the island of Santorini, and the smaller piece on the upper left, now the isle of Thirassia. The sea rushed in to fill the gaping hole, called the "caldera," left by the explosion.

The volcano didn't die, of course. After the big bang, it went right on about its business, down at the bottom of the caldera. Over the centuries, smaller, underwater eruptions occurred, it started to grow again, and in the 1700s, less than 300 years ago, what became known as Nea Kameni rose out of the middle of the caldera. From the air, the mouth of the volcano is clearly visible.

That's the "island" in the middle of the map above, and the one you see in every picture we've taken from our windows and patio. In reality, "Nea Kameni" is the volcano that blew up, once again grown large enough to be seen.

An earthquake occurred in 1956. It was caused, they say, by volcanic activity. People died and there was great damage. And about a third of the population left Santorini for good.

Soon we'll talk about grapevines that grow like wicker baskets, and white-washed tree trunks!

Bet you can hardly wait ..

First, Ramona's getting cabin fever

(:O)>