Nisyros' Volcanic Caldera

The Greek island of Nisyros lies in the middle of the Aegean Sea.

- HELEN SERRAS-HERMAN

It is part of the Dodecanese Island group and sits between the more famous Kos and Rhodes islands. Nisyros is a 9-km wide, mountainous and rocky island, formed by volcanic lava. At the center of the island, is a two-mile-wide caldera with active fumaroles, hot gases bubbling up through the mud, and hot springs.

Nisyros is one of the more active but less known volcanoes in Greece. Together with the Kos caldera volcanoes, Nisyros is part of the Hellenic arc, a curved line that includes the active volcanoes of Methana, Milos, and Santorini (http://volcano.oregonstate.edu ). My husband and I visited the island as a day trip via a small ferry boat that departed from the island of Kos, where we were staying. The journey takes about 50 minutes— with the boat docking at Mandraki, the main town, and harbor of the island. The harbor area is picturesque, with narrow streets and white-washed two-story houses with vibrantly painted blue wooden balconies and stunning, brightly colored hanging bougainvilleas.