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Santorini Island, Greece, spring 2019: Loumaravi
The oldest volcanic rocks on Santorini are found in the SW part of the island, in the area of Akrotiri (Loumaravi) complex and near the lighthouse (Cape Akrotiri). They consists dominantly of andesitic and dacitic domes and flows as well as large amounts of mostly fine-grained, silica-rich and bright-in-color submarine volcanic breccia and ashes. Hydrothermal alteration is common, leading to reddish and greenish secondary minerals in the tuffs.
A great way to observe these features is to take the beach shuttle boat from Akrotiri (opposite Nikolas Cave tavern) to the Black Beach via the Red and White Beaches.
Images taken during excursions on 11 and 17 May 2019.
Southern part of the Loumaravi complex under a stormy sky. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Our tour guide and photographer Tobias Schorr collecting capers. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Part of the old trail from Loumaravi's summit near Akrotiri to Agia Markella chapel near Kambia beac... [
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(130 Hits)
The area was once intensely being farmed. Old alonis (circular threshing places) witness of this pas... [
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In the lower part of the hills, a thick sequence of columnar jointed brown andesitic lavas is expose... [
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(294 Hits)
Tobias studying the darker lavas. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Ancient pillow breccia, suggesting the extrusion took place underwater. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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The brown lavas are overlain by hydrothermally altered white to greenish volcanic tuff, inside which... [
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(111 Hits)
In the valley ending at Kambia beach, several lower hills are formed by irregular ridges of the ande... [
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(89 Hits)
Much younger ash layers cover the surface in many areas. In this spot, the ash consists almost entir... [
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(126 Hits)
Natural erosion has created many small caves in the sides of the hills, sometimes used as shelters f... [
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(90 Hits)
Some areas show strong hydrothermal alteration of rocks, as the presence of green clay minerals sugg... [
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(108 Hits)
Terraced hills (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Small chapel in the hillside. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Close-up of an old pillow lava structure. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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The updomed Archangelos hill with Taxiachis chapel. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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The same rocks crop out at the sea cliff between Mesa Pigadia ("Black Beach") and Kambia beach. (Pho... [
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(146 Hits)
The intrusion (dark) and the partially altered white volcanic sediments. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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The cliffs are very colorful. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Sea erosion created nice pillar-like structures. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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The "White Beach". (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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Contact of the intrusive complex (dark) with the fine-grained sediments (bright). (Photo: Tom Pfeiff... [
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(70 Hits)
Columnar jointing is visible in some place on the upper surface of the intrusion where cooling of th... [
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(101 Hits)
Shuttle boat arriving at the Black Beach. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer) [
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