The island of Santorini is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history. The eruption occurred some 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 and may have led indirectly to the collapse of the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete, 110 km (68 mi) to the south, through a gigantic tsunami. Another popular theory holds that the eruption is the source of the legend of Atlantis.

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