Santorini (Greek : Σαντορίνη officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα) is a Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from its mainland
It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago formed by the Santorini caldera
It is the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 (28 sq mi)
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)
NEA KAMENI is a small, uninhabited Greek island of volcanic origin located in the Aegean Sea, within the flooded Santorini caldera. Nea Kameni (new burnt) and the neighbouring small island Palea Kameni (old burnt) 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 Institute for the Study and Monitoring of the Santorini Volcano (ISMOSAV) and is a protected scientific site. The island has many vents, one of which is an active sulfur vent, named Jorgo (George), as well as a carpet of red grassy succulents on the thin soil in the summertime
The active vent was named by the locals after King George I of Greece, as the vent was active the day after the King visited Santorini
The nearly barren island is visited daily by dozens of tourist boats throughout the summer
Visitors climb a gravel path to reach the top of the 130-meter-high volcanic crater, where it is possible to complete a full circuit of the rim
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 3600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization
The eruption left a large caldera surrounded by volcanic ash deposits hundreds of metres deep
It is the most active volcanic centre in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc, though what remains today is chiefly a water-filled caldera. The volcanic arc is approximately 500 km (300 mi) long and 20 to 40 km (12 to 25 mi) wide
Santorini was named by the Latin Empire in the thirteenth century, and is a reference to Saint Irene, from the name of the old church in the village of Perissa - the name Santorini is a contraction of the name Santa Irini
Before then, it was known as Kallístē (Καλλίστη, "the most beautiful one"), Strongýlē (Στρογγύλη, "the circular one") or Thēra
The ancient name Thera, for Theras, the leader of the Spartans who colonized and gave his name to the island was revived in the nineteenth century as the official name of the island and its main city, but the colloquial Santorini is still in popular use
TOURISM
The expansion of tourism in recent years has resulted in the growth of the economy and population
An estimated 2 million tourists visit annually
The island's pumice quarries have been closed since 1986, in order to preserve the caldera
In 2007-the cruise ship MS Sea Diamond ran aground and sank inside the caldera
As of 2019-Santorini is popular with Asian couples who come to the island to have pre-wedding photos taken against the backdrop of the landscape
Viticulture is the most important sector in Santorini
Oia is now called a Κοινότητα (community), within the municipality of Thera, and it consists of the local subdivisions (Greek: τοπικό διαμέρισμα) of Therasia and Oia
The municipality of Thera includes an additional 12 local subdivisions on Santorini island: Akrotiri, Emporio, Episkopis Gonia, Exo Gonia, Imerovigli, Karterados, Megalohori, Mesaria, Pyrgos Kallistis, Thera (the seat of the municipality), Vothon, and Vourvoulos
ARCHITECTURE
The traditional architecture of Santorini is similar to that of the other Cyclades, with low-lying cubical houses, made of local stone and whitewashed or limewashed with various volcanic ashes used as colours
These colours, in recent years, tend to replace white in the colour of house façades, according to the traditional architecture of the island as it was developed until the great earthquake of 1956
The unique characteristic is the common utilisation of the hypóskapha: extensions of houses dug sideways or downwards into the surrounding pumice
AIRPORT
Santorini (Thira) International Airport
Негізгі бет SANTORINI 6 NEA KAMENI VOLCANIC ISLAND 2
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