[Faline]

These extraordinary images show the full force of Mother Nature as a Chilean volcano erupts for the first time in 50 years.
Ash has been thrown six miles up into the sky and the South American government has ordered the evacuation of thousands of residents.
Winds fanned the ash toward neighbouring Argentina, darkening the sky in the ski resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche, in the centre of the country, and its airport has also been closed.

Bolts of electricity coursed through the centre of the plume above the Puyehue-Cordon-Caulle volcano range in Chile - bathing the darkened skies in a spooky light.
Further snaps of the amazing overnight display appear to be illuminating the towering mass from the inside in a breathtaking show of the force of nature.

A time-lapse photo shows lightning bolts striking around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain:




Lightning and volcanic fire is seen amid and underneath a towering cloud of ash. It is the first time the volcano has erupted in 50 years:



The lightning is thought to come from inside the volcanic cloud of debris.
Scientists are unsure how exactly it is created - but they believe it could be the result of particles rubbing together like they do in normal thunderstorms to build up friction and electric charges.

Lightning lashes massive cloud:


An extraordinary cloud formation is created by the ash rising several miles into the atmosphere:


The eruption in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain, about 575 miles south of the capital, Santiago, also prompted authorities to close a busy border crossing into Argentina.
It was not immediately clear which of the chain's four volcanoes had erupted because of ash cover and weather conditions. The chain last saw a major eruption in 1960.
Local media said the smell of sulphur hung in the air and there was constant seismic activity.
'The Cordon Caulle (volcanic range) has entered an eruptive process, with an explosion resulting in a 10-kilometre-high gas column,' the state emergency office ONEMI said.
As a precaution, the government said it was evacuating 3,500 people from the surrounding area.
This development is the latest volcanic activity to affect the country. Three years ago, Chile's Chaiten volcano erupted spectacularly for the first time in thousands of years, spewing molten rock and a vast cloud of ash that reached the stratosphere and was visible from space.
It also drifted over neighbouring Argentina, coating towns. Chile's Llaima volcano, one of South America's most active, also erupted that year and again in 2009.
Chile's chain of about 2,000 volcanoes is the world's second largest after Indonesia. Some 50 to 60 are on record as having erupted, and 500 are potentially active.

Cloud level the plume looks like a nuclear bomb has just exploded with its mushroom cloud bursting towards the skies:


A woman wipes a thick layer of volcanic ash away from the windscreen of her car:


It was the latest in a series of volcanic eruptions in Chile in recent years. Chile's Chaiten volcano erupted spectacularly in 2008 for the first time in thousands of years, spewing molten rock and a vast cloud of ash that reached the stratosphere.
The ash also swelled a nearby river and ravaged a nearby town of the same name.
The ash cloud from Chaiten coated towns in Argentina and was visible from space. Chile's Llaima volcano, one of South America's most active, erupted in 2008 and 2009.
Chile's chain of about 2,000 volcanoes is the world's second largest after Indonesia. Some 50 to 60 are on record as having erupted, and 500 are potentially active.

Beautiful but deadly, the cloud turns fiery red in the sunshine as the eruption continues to belch ash skyward:


As molten rock and gases are ejected from the core of the volcano below, what appears to be a 'have a nice day' face is formed from the electrically charged air:


Carrying bottles of water and soft drinks this man wears a gas mask to avoid breathing in ash:


As darkness falls the centre of this Argentinian town looks like it could be a wintry wonderland in the Austrian mountains:


A car drives through a street covered by ash in the Argentine resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche. It lies 100 miles from Chile's Puyehue volcano:

[güttsfükk]

nice one, the volcanoes in chile seem to have some awesome lightning displays in there

[Faline]

Video footage of the lightning and ash cloud:

[kellyhound]

kewl

[chefbob09]

top post!

[rottenflesh]

Ohes Noes! Earth will have climate change!

seriously though, these are some cool pics.

[güttsfükk]

a lot of the lightning images here look like the ones taken at the chaiten eruption in chile in 2010

[Faline]

This towering plume of brown ash is clearly visible from space as a Chilean volcano continues to violently erupt.
Captured by specialist equipment on the Aqua satellite, the image was taken shortly after the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle exploded into life after decades of lying dormant in south-central Chile.
A three-mile long fissure has opened up in the Andes as toxic gases and ash belched a cloud more than six miles high across Chile and Argentina.

A vast plume of ash is clearly visible from space after the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile erupted on Saturday:



More images:




The massive plume of ash glows red during sunset near Entrelagos, Chile. It has seen the airport in Argentinian ski resort Bariloche closed, as well as a border crossing:


A field is covered in fine ash as the plume of dust blocks out sky:


A path at the ski resort of San Carlos de Bariloche is covered in ash:



The plume of ash continues to dominate the skyline and experts are unsure how long the volcano will continue to erupt:


The plume of ash has reached as far as the Atlantic thanks to winds blowing it towards Buenos Aires:


The plume of smoke is visible on this image of Earth taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS):


A group of Mapuche Indians have said they will also seek authorisation to enter the evacuation area to pray for the volcano to stop erupting.
Enrique Valdivieso, director of Chile's National Geology and Mines Service, said the fissure was belching toxic gases and material that could clog rivers and force them to overflow.
Spectacular displays of lighting have lit up the volcanic clouds over the weekend and experts are still unsure how long it will be before the volcano falls silent.
The plume of ash has caused the airport at Argentinian ski resort San Carlos de Bariloche to be closed.
The eruption, 575 miles south of the capital Santiago, has also seen a busy border crossing between the two countries shut.
There are four volcanoes in the chain, but it was unclear which one has erupted because of the ash cover and weather conditions. The chain last saw a major eruption in 1960.

[bdjackass318]

great post and fantastic pictures! 5 star post

[rottenflesh]

Reminds me of..




" I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. Go back to the shadow. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun!"