The island of Santorini belongs to the Cyclades and is situtated in the Aegean Sea. It is of volcanic origin and is located about 200 km southeast from Greece's mainland.
It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago consisting of other small islands (Thirasia, P. Kammeni, N. Kammeni) which bears the same name. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 and a 2001 census population of 13.670. 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.
The island is the site of one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded history: the Minoan eruption (sometimes called the Thera eruption), which occurred some 3.600 years ago at the height of the Minoan civilization.
The island represents one of the 3 most frequented touristic destinations in Greece. The main activitiy is tourism.
