Milos Island, Milos, South Aegean, Greecei

Regional Level Types
Milos Island	Municipality
Milos	Regional Unit
South Aegean	Administrative Region
Greece	Country

Milos, Kimolos and the smaller islands that surround them belong to the Aegean volcanic arc and consist mainly of acidic volcanic rocks.

The stratigraphy of Milos Island is composed, from the bottom to the top, by altered crystalline metamorphic basement, Neogene sediments, old volcanic tuffaceous formations, ignimbrites, old rhyolitic rocks, old dacitic and andesitic members, pyroclastic rocks, younger tuffs, lahar in different
places, younger volcanics of acid composition and quaternary formations. Regarding its geological characteristics, the intensively eroded crystalline metamorphic basement appears in a very limited area (SE coastline). A not continuous series of Mio–Pliocenic marine sediments is lying above the crystalline basement; it begins with reddish conglomerates and ends up with well-bedded limestones, which at places turn to sandstones (Fytikas, 1989).

From Upper Pliocene Milos was affected by an extensive volcanism, which lasted until late Quaternary (Fytikas et al., 1986). The composition of Milos volcanic rocks shows a calcalkaline character ranging from andesites to rhyolites. The youngest Upper Pleistocene volcanic activity is concentrated in correspondence of the volcanic centres of Fyriplaka in the south and Trachilas in the north. In Trachilas the explosive activity began with the formation of a tuff ring mainly composed by pyroclastic surges; the surge deposits gradually pass to block and lapilli and finally to lava flows (Fytikas et al., 1986; Mitropoulos et al., 1987; Kelepertzis & Kyriakopoulos, 1991; Kyriakopoulos, 1998). In the Fyriplaka area at least two tuff rings can be identified: a larger one (about 1500 m in internal diameter) and an inner and smaller one. The explosive activity leading to the formation of these tuff rings alternated with effusive episodes producing lava flows which ran to the NW and reached the sea inside the Gulf of Milos (Fytikas et al., 1986).

Although Milos Island is not currently volcanically active, it is the site of intense old and recent hydrothermal processes. At the present time a high geothermal gradient (> 2,5 H.F.U.) occur. The high heat flow caused intense hydrothermal activity, which is responsible for many phreatic explosions. In
some places (e.g. Fyriplaka, Adamas, Aghia Kyriaki, and Paleochori) the hydrothermal activity is expressed by the occurrence of many hot springs (30-85°C), fumaroles (98-102°C), hot grounds (100°C at a depth of 30-40 cm) and submarine gas emissions, widespread on and around the island (Kyriakopoulos, 2010).

Fossils

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Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milos
Wikidata ID:	Q203979
GeoNames ID:	256951

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References