Santorini Erupts, 1711

Goree, Father. "A Relation of a New Island, Which Was Raised up from the Bottom of the Sea, on the 23rd of May 1707, in the Bay of Santorini, in the Archipelago." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, 1711, 27(332):354-375.

In May of 1707 the sea floor in the bay of the island of Santorini slowly rose to the surface, gradually creating a new island, which was covered with shells from the ocean bed. Then a series of explosive eruptions began in the bay, and over the course of the next four years another new island was created, this one volcanic.

Father Goree wrote this letter to the Royal Society of London describing the events, and attaching a map that showed the new islands. Goree attributed the eruption to a sulfur mine below the surface that had caught fire.

The new volcanic island of Santorini provided much food for thought for later geologists, especially Lazzaro Moro (see exhibit item 7).

_{Stokes 1971, “Volcanic Studies by Members of the Royal Society of London, 1665-1780,” pp.47-48.}

Map of new Santorini islands. Image source: Goree, Father. "A Relation of a New Island, Which Was Raised up from the Bottom of the Sea, on the 23rd of May 1707, in the Bay of Santorini, in the Archipelago." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol. 27, no. 332, 1711, p. 353.

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