Chile’s Chaitén Volcano from Space

Chile’s Chaitén Volcano had been dormant for more than 9,000 years when it erupted in May 2008. In the months that followed, the volcano remained active, releasing plumes of steam and volcanic ash, coating local vegetation, clogging waterways, and inundating the nearby town of the same name. On January 19, 2009, an explosive dome collapse occurred at the volcano, according to a bulletin from the Volcanism Blog. A thick plume of ash and steam blew from the volcano’s summit approximately 70 kilometers (38 nautical miles) to the north-northeast, according to the U.S. Air Force Weather Agency.