Eruptions That Shaped History

Volcanic eruptions have repeatedly redirected the course of human events:

• Thera (Santorini), ~1600 BCE — may have crippled the Minoan civilization on Crete and inspired the legend of Atlantis
• 536 CE mystery eruption — triggered a haze that dimmed the sun for months, bringing crop failure and famine across the Northern Hemisphere
• Pinatubo, 1991 — ejected about 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide, lowering global temperatures by 0.5 degrees C for two years and briefly slowing global warming