Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 09:54:18 -0700
Two of nature’s most spectacular forces produced an incredible brew in
the skies of Chile as a volcanic eruption met a lightning storm. Tons
of dust and ash from the eruption of the Chaitïn volcano poured into
the night sky just as an electric storm passed overhead. The resulting
collision created a spectacular sight as lightning flickered around
the dust cloud amid the
orange glow of the volcano.
The eruption was all the more spectacular because the Chaitïn
volcano,800 miles (1,290km)south of Santiago , has been dormant for
hundreds – if not thousands – of years. The Patagonian volcano began
erupting on Friday and the 12-mile-high plume has left vast tracts of
land coated with a layer of ash.