Legends of the Volcano

Legends of the Volcano

Legends and information are grouped by country: Papua New Guinea Iceland Russia Greece Japan New Zealand Alaska Indonesia Philippines United States Mexico Canada This is an ongoing VW project and we will happily accept academic papers or additional sources on the topic that expand our volcano mythos.

The great eruption at Santorini in 1500 BC may be the origin of the Atlantis myth. This photo of an engraving shows the 1866 eruption of NaeKameni, Santorini. Photo credit: National Geophysical Data Center (P. Hedervari). Volcanic features and phenomena have often been described in legends. These legends provide a connection between a cultural or spiritual view of nature and the scientific study of Earth's natural processes. Careful study of these legends may even yield faint clues about ancient eruptions. The legends in this section are all believed to describe or relate to volcanic features or events.