The eruption of the Santorini volcano in 1925 remains one of the most fascinating geological events in the history of the Aegean. This impressive phenomenon was documented on film by Georgios Georgalas, a professor of Mineralogy, who captured unique footage of the eruption.
The previous volcanic episode before the 1925-1928 eruption occurred between 1866 and 1870. After a 55-year period of dormancy, minor seismic tremors in July 1925 signaled the reawakening of the volcano.
Activity began in August 1925 in the Kokkina Nera (Red Waters) area, where the sea temperature increased, the water changed color dramatically, and the eastern shores of Nea Kameni experienced subsidence. Soon, water and steam jets appeared, followed by the first lava flows. Shortly after, the activity shifted 200 meters southwest, forming the dome and craters of "Daphne," named in honor of the first warship that arrived after the eruption. This was followed by a highly explosive phase, with powerful phreatomagmatic eruptions producing towering ash columns and volcanic bombs that reached heights of up to 3.2 kilometers. This phase continued until January 1926, when activity paused for four months. In May 1926, a brief resurgence led to phreatic explosions accompanied by small pyroclastic flows.
After a second pause lasting a year and a half, another intense explosive phase occurred in January 1928, consisting of four powerful phreatomagmatic eruptions. Subsequent explosive and effusive activity created a new lava dome, "Nautilus," named after the famous submarine from Jules Verne’s novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as it seemed to emerge from the waters of Santorini. This dome is no longer visible today, as it was covered by lava from the next eruption in 1939-1941. By the end of the 1925-1928 eruption, the total lava volume—estimated at 100,000,000 cubic meters—formed two land extensions covering approximately 0.8 square kilometers, which surrounded Mikri Kameni and connected it to Nea Kameni.
The historic video was uploaded to YouTube four years ago, and now, the Facebook page VINTAGE-ΚΛΙΚ ΜΕ ΧΡΩΜΑ ΣΤΟ ΠΑΡΕΛΘΟΝ-ΚΡΗΤΗ-ΕΛΛΑΔΑ-ΚΟΣΜΟΣ presents the footage, restored with color and sound by page administrator Marinos Takitzis for the first time.
