Over the history of the world, several volcanoes erupted, burying entire civilizations and destroying cities and islands, the most famous of which are the Santorini eruption of Greece, the Mount Vesuvius of Italy and the volcano of the island of Krakatau in Indonesia.
Thanks to NASA satellites observing the Earth, we can now see epic eruptions as they appear from space!
Mount Merapi, Indonesia, on June 6, 2006, after a major eruption that prompted the evacuation of more than 10,000 area villagers. Experts felt that powerful earthquakes in the region prior to the eruption may have contributed to the volcanic blast. Mount Merapi erupted again in late 2010, killing more than 350 people, and it is now in the preparation phase of another possible eruption.
Montagu Island in the South Sandwich Islands, located between South America and Antarctica. Mount Belinda was inactive until late 2001, when it began erupting. The image was taken on Sept. 23, 2005.
This image was taken on Feb. 19, 2000, depicting Mount Cotopaxi of Ecuador during its eruptions, having done so as many as 50 times since 1738. Located in the Andes mountain chain, Cotopaxi is known as the world’s highest continuously active volcano.
This photo was taken on May 23, 2006, of the Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands, which erupted again in 2011.