With its romantic sunsets, dazzling ocean views, and whitewashed buildings clinging to rocky clifftops, the Greek island of Santorini (aka Thera or Thira) is the very picture of an idyll in the Aegean. But this tranquil scene belies the island"s explosive geologic history, for this is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. The Minoan eruption, about 3,600 years ago, caused the center of the Thera volcano to collapse into the ocean, leaving Santorini a jagged, crescent-shaped moon atop the sea.
Santorini through the clouds
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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Welcome to the Year of the Pig
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Day of the Dead
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Gamboa Crater, Mars
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Rock of ages
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20 years later
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Penn Station
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Jamaica celebrates its independence
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A polar bear near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
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Travel Sunday: San Francisco
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Short-eared owl
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Aýna, Albacete, Spain
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Labor Day parade in 1915 Chicago
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The Canary Islands, Spain
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Sunburst at Angkor
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National Umbrella Day
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Apples ready for harvest in Minnesota
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Ring of fire
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Modica, Sicily, Italy
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Weaverbird nests at Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve
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Mute swans
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American bison
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Winter solstice
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Arches National Park, Utah
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Mount Hood, Oregon
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Antarctica Day
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Canadian Thanksgiving
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An oceanic valentine
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Travel Sunday: Liverpool
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All eyes on sustainability
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Yosemite National Park, California
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

