Santorini is a small, circular
archipelago of
volcanic islands located in the southern
Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from
Greece's mainland. The largest island is known as
Thēra, forming the southernmost member of the
Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km
2 (28 sq mi) and a 2001 census population of 13,670. It is composed of the
Municipality of
Thira (pop. 12,440) and the Community of
Oía (Οία, pop. 1,230, which includes 268 inhabitants resident on the offshore island of
Therasia, lying to the west). These have a total land area of 90.623 km
2 (34.990 sq mi), which also includes the uninhabited islands of
Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiana (all part of the Municipality of Thira).
Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera.
A giant central lagoon, more or less rectangular, and measuring about 12 by 7 km (7.5 by 4.3 mi), is surrounded by 300 m (980 ft) high steep cliffs on three sides. The island slopes downward from the cliffs to the surrounding Aegean Sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by another much smaller island called Therasia; the lagoon merges with the sea in two places, in the northwest and southwest. The water in the centre of the lagoon is nearly ...
