Domes of Central Division of Methana

After an earthquake, about 273 B.C. there was a crack in the mountain slope of northwestern Methana from which first sulfur dioxide gas and ash came out. It soon became a viscous ring lacquer and created a dome that in several phases reached a height of about 411.5 m. In this central lava dome, a series of vents opened and a stream of boulders up to 1.5 kilometers long was transported to the sea. One rock like a bulldozer pushed the other forward, and somewhere near the end of this event, a new fissure broke in the southern foothills of the dome and spewed lava for the last time. There is where the village of Kameni Chora(=Burnt Country) is located today. When the events ended and the magma chamber was empty, the dome collapsed and a pseudocrater was developed. Rudolf v. Leyden explains the phenomenon of primary and secondary vents in his book, where also describes the mechanical processes, how the lava is squeezed between the main craters and how the central summit area was formed. This volcanic eruption was visible as far away as ancient Athens and there were references from the ancient writers Ovidius and Strabona. At that time there were certainly visitors, since the nearby sanctuary of Troizena attracted many Athenians. The sanctuary was destroyed by earthquakes as a result of the volcanic eruption. Additionally, even then there were healing springs in Methana. However, as a result of the volcano, new hot springs were created. This fact was also mentioned by the Roman travel writer Pausanias around 180 A.C. The Lava Domes like these in Burnt Country (Kammeni Chora) are very common in the peninsula of Methana and there are much bigger ones, like the dome of Kypseli. Source: Updated list of Geotopes, IGME, Athens 2016