The Aeolian Islands formed from a chain of volcanoes in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of the island of Sicily. Geologists and volcanologists have studied the islands since the eighteenth century, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared them a World Heritage Site in 2000 because of their value to the study of volcanic processes.
On May 10, 2007, a large human-caused fire broke out near the island’s only city, Avalon. Before it was contained five days later, the fire scorched 4,800 acres.
he island of Ischia is approximately 30 kilometers southwest of Naples, Italy, in the western Bay of Naples (part of the Tyrrenhian Sea). While the island’s rocks are volcanic in origin, much of the island’s geology and current topography is characterized by blocks of uplifted rock and sunken areas between weak spots or cracks in Earth’s crust.
In the western Pacific Ocean, a new volcanic island that formed in the shadow of Nishino-shima has merged with it. The island has doubled in size as the eruption continues.