The island of Santorini slants downhill from the high cliffs to the neighboring Aegean sea. There is also a comparatively smallerisland – Therasia that forms the boundary of Santorini.In the beginning, about two million years back Santorini used to be a petite non-volcanic island. Mount Profitis Ilias located to the southeastern part of Santorini bears testimony to this fact as its non-volcanic limestone would suggest.
 Scientists are of the opinion that about two million years ago, volcanoes located underneath the Aegean Sea to the west of Santorini began generating volcanic emissions that resulted in the formation of numerous small islands and ultimately there came into being two colossal 'shield volcanoes' which are nothing but conical shaped mountains. These conical mountains got amalgamated with the non-volcanic islands to make way for one large-sized island, which is Santorini. Although there is absolutely no trace of these mountains in the present times, geological scientists have appropriately named them. The mountain to the north was named as Mount Peristeria while the one located to the south was named Mount Thera.
Geologists are of the opinion that 200,000 years ago Mount Thera began to release immeasurable quantities of volcanic emission and they got deposited in the form of a chamber under Mount Thera. So massive were the eruptions that the mountain was unable to sustain itself and it collapsed downwards into the vacant volcanic chamber, thereby forming a caldera, which is nothing but an extensive yawning hole at the basement.
This explosive phenomenon has been occurring continuously for the next 200,000 years and each time an explosion occurred it would further deepen the caldera, which ultimately shaped the island of Santorini as it is today.
The island of Santorini is made up of the following islands: The main island Thera, Therasia, Aspronisi, Palea Kameni,and the island of Nea Kameni.
 The volcanic zone of Santorini is the most dynamic volcanic zone in the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. Santorini’s volcanic arc is approximately 500 Kms. long and it extends all the way to the Turkish Bodrum peninsula from the Greecian mainland. The Santorini Volcanic Arch is exemplified by seismic activity at depths ranging between 150-170 Kms., which also happens to be the point where the African Plate is positioned beneath the Eurasian plate.
The Santorini Volcanic zone plunges at angles of 30-40E and the frontiers of the two plates- African and Eurasian plates are designated by the deep-sea straits located in southern part of Crete.
The outer layer of the Aegean Volcanic Zone has a width of 20-32 Kms. The Cyclade islands are positioned on the Central Aseismic Plateau (CAP), which is reasonably firm with a pretty strong outer layer. To the southern edge of the Central Aseismic Plateau are the volcanic nerve centers of Aegean Arc.
Geologists are of the opinion that the entire Cyclade area including the Cycladic Massif, which came into being during the period between the Triassic to Tertiary time and were creased during the Alpine period that dates back to some 60 million years ago.
Initially the Cycladic Massif was a consistent islet which began to crumble due to the seismic activities of the tectonic plates during the late Miocene period. The Aegean Arc witnessed the first volcanic activity around 3 to 4 million years back and the only exception was the Kos island which witnessed seismic activities around 10 to 11 million years back.
 The principal volcanic zone of Santorini is made up of the Christiania islands, which is located at a distance of 20 Kms. southwest and the sunken Columbus volcano that is located at a distance of 7 Kms. to the northeast. The entire volcanic zone is placed on Amorgos Ridge.
In Santorini the principal characteristics are noticeable on pre-volcanic rocks, which are conspicuous by their plunging faults very similar to the Mesa Vouno, passing as it does all the way from Perissa beach to the picturesque Kamari beach.
The vast majority of tectonic lines visible in Santorini belong to the familiar southwest-northeast inclination. By far the most significant tectonic line is the Kameni Line and as it traverses the caldera, it clearly classifies most of the identified eruption hubs. The Kameni Line literally runs parallel to the Christiania islands, the Akrotiri peninsula, Palea Kameni and Nea Kameni.
There is another tectonic line- the Columbo Line, which is quite similar to the Kameni Line passes through the axis of Megalo Vouno, Cape Columbo beach and ultimately extends all the way to the Columbo volcano. Geologists are of the opinion that the intensifying volcanic emissions had subjugated the existing tectonic fault regions.
 The prevolcanic rocks in Santorini are spread out in places like Profitis Ilias, Mesa Vouno, Gavrillos crest, Pirgos, Monolithos and the central caldera between Cape Plaka and Athinios. These set of pre-volcanic rocks are primarily made of limestone and schist. In this regard mention must be made of a remarkable 9.5 million years old Miocene Granite intrusion, which has been located at Athinios. Geologists are of the opinion that this Granite is a constituent of the Cycladic Granitic Province and is the foundation minerals like chalcopyrite, talcum, chrysocolla, and magnetite
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