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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Windmills in Kinderdijk, the Netherlands
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All is silent for Big Ben’s musical milestone
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Winter at Valley Forge
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Acadia transformed
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Moving as one
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The desert blooms
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In the path of the pronghorn
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A medieval Moorish gem
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Prince Christian Sound in southern Greenland
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A legend and a legendary home
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Celebrating Charles Darwin
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Womens History Month
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Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
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Merced River, Yosemite National Park, California
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Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington
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International Jazz Day
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Registan Square, Samarkand, Uzbekistan
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World Wildlife Day
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Adorable activism
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Pretty poetic for a pit
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Art abounds at the Palais Garnier
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Purple crocus flowers, Seven Rila Lakes, Bulgaria
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Brotherly cubs
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World Water Day
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Juvenile manatees in a freshwater spring, Crystal River, Florida
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Ring of fire solar eclipse
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Badlands National Park in South Dakota
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Berlin Festival of Lights
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Playa del Amor, Marietas Islands, Mexico
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Over the boardwalk
Bing Wallpaper Gallery

