Santorini - The Thera Cataclysm

The video illustrates the geological formation of Santorini, the most important volcanic archipelago in Europe. Scenery animations (created with Bryce and ParticleIllusion), annimated paleogeographic maps and on site video recordings (Spring 2011) are combined.
(I have published a new video on YouTube "Akrotiri - the Frescoes and the Cataclysm", which primarily presents recent scientific findings of the last 10 years on Minoan-Cycladic culture and the Thera cataclysm.)

The South Aegean Volcanic Arc (Video Series)
1.) Santorini – the Thera Cataclysm
Akrotiri – the Frescoes and the Cataclysm
2.) Volcanic Island Nisyros – Plate Tectonics and Geology
3.) Milos – Obsidian Island (coming soon)
4.) Methana and Aegina (coming)

Chapters:
00:00 Geological Formation of the Santorini Archipelago
09:30 The Interior of the Minoan Ring Island
14:15 The Cataclysm
23:35 The Volcanic Developments after the Cataclysm

[robertryan]

Very interesting. I've been looking at this area as the start/end of Atlantis for a while. Your basically describing it very logically in geological terms, as far as informational terms, it's a ten in ten. Love it!

[timjones]

This is the first week of Feb 2025, Santorini is Popping again. Island is completely evacuated. Roughly about 1000 earthquakes a day currently and science doesn't know if it is Tectonic or Volcanic.

[woodrackes]

Thank you for this. Hats off for trying to do it in a foreign language—English. Kudos for bravery.

[Vexarax]

23:15 the tsunamis are estimated to be between 35-150m (115-492ft) high when taking into account the size of the Krakatoa tsunamis and the fact that the Thera eruption was so much more powerful than Krakatoa!! Sea life deposits were found in a layer far inland on Crete suggesting the waves had a devastating effects wiping out/destroying coastal settlements (passing right through them pretty much). Really enjoying this video thank you, sad to be almost finished :c

[cranebird]

Such an interesting and beautiful graphics display. Really great. Thx so much.

[elessartelcontar]

I have written a 250, 000+ word as yet unpublished manuscript called Twilight of Atlantis. It is centered around the last supervolcano eruption of Thera (Sanotorini's ancient name which means 'Island of fear'). I researched volcanology for several years for my book especially Thera's last eruption. I am as knowledgeable about it as anyone can be. Bob Ballard actually dived at the site and was horrified to find that it had been a VEI 8. What made it so bad was the magma being flooded with seawater as it erupted.

Thera's eruption in 1600 BC was a VEI 8 (volcanic explosivity index) which is a scale used to measure the size of explosive volcanic eruptions, a VEI 8 is a bad as it gets, kids. For reference, the Vesuvius eruption that destroyed Pompeii in 79 AD was a VEI 5 and it covered Pompei with ash and pumice 19 to 23 feet. The last Thera eruption
covered what is now Santorini in ash and pumice 1, 200 feet deep!
It generated probably 20ish megatsunamis 900 feet tall! This wiped out the Minoans on Crete ending their centuries long Empire. Ancient records in Egypt and China contain references to smoky dusty skies for months and 3 years without a summer. This was a global event. The
island of Cyprus has a narrow point pointing to southeastern Turkey and Northwest Syria that is shaped like a funnel. That's where the tsunamis will be the worst, it funnels all that energy and water into that narrow shallow bay and that will force the water to rise possibly thousands of feet high. There's more to fear Santorini having some hotels and houses falling down the cliff!
If this eruption is like the last one then no place near the shore of the Mediterranean is safe. Leave now why you can. Good luck to you all.

[scrmepal]

I was there on that volcanic island a few days truly fantastic views of Santorini

[the_mystery_of_stonehenge]

Finally. A documentary that speaks intelligently about the governing dynamics of the volcanic event that ended BOTH the Minoans and the extraordinary Stonehenge civilizations. At 10.33 the main eruption is described. It is now understood that at those same moments the island of Crete, 88 miles away, was rapidly sinking.

[johnsongibbs]

Great video. Thank you. This is a wonderful illustration.

[taleandclawrock]

Fascinating that Kolumbo volcano once above sea level. Perhaps we will see that again!

[johnheigis]

Incredibly outstanding!
Very well done!
Astounding!...
Thank you!

[billhardy]

Very informative. I've always been interested in the history of this Island. Thank you!

[oscarrodighiero]

Today I learned a lot, congratulations to the narrator, the orchestra and whoever composed the music. Great scientific contribution from those who wrote and illustrated the volcanic situation "from a bird's eye view".
Thank you all.
Oscar Rodighiero

[FloozieOne]

Very interesting. It helps to have the various land masses laid out in a manner that shows their relationships both in the past and the present. I expect that most people, myself included, assumed there was only the one major eruption that did all the damage, (along with its concurrent tsunami). To find out that there were several that reshaped the island over and over again while maintaining the ring-shape is very interesting and has given me a new perspective on this bit of geologic history.

[RozitaVideo]

I really enjoyed this. I have seen documentaries about Thera, but without an in-depth discussion about the geology. Love the graphics. Great job.

[johnarthur]

It is the kolumbo Caldara, one under Aegean sea most likely to erupt. Could be a huge explosion and make the Earth a bit darker for a couple of years

[sitnspin]

Very informative! Excellent documentary ♥

[filmssolagni]

Excuse me please, you can put the subtitles language italian? Thank you!!

[brendadrew]

Interesting indeed! I was in Pompeii, Italy many moons ago and thankfully Mt Vesuvius lay dormant and then 35 years later my youngest daughter went there, too as a student in the UK and it was still dormant. The last time Vesuvius erupted was in 1946 and it's said it's overdue to erupt again! But at the time, we didn't even know about the even more dangerous "Campi Flegrei" beneath the Bay of Naples which is also due to erupt once again per scientists/volcanologists! I think it would be wise to remember those tourists who recently visited an island with a supposedly dormant volcano in New Zealand which erupted when they visited a few years ago. Some were badly burned, some died! At your own risk when visiting volcanos and dangerous lava flows. That it was on their itinerary is unbelievable, hope they sued! Japan sits on multiple earthquake faultlines and also has dangerous tsumanis for centuries, part of the "Pacific Ring of Fire"! The next big one, major earthquake and tsunami per leading scientists/meterologists is the Cascadian Subduction Zone, not far from Mt Helena in Washington state, another volcano that has erupted in 1980! When traveling be safe and aware!

[sirbernardmendesfrance]

From this video, perhaps it is a combination between the two. Volcanic activity and tectonic shifts from the underground.