In 1707 a new volcano arose from the sea near Santorini in the Aegean sea. Santorini, formerly known as Thera, had erupted explosively around 1500 BC, giving rise, it is believed, to Plato’s legend of Atlantis. In the eighteenth century, the creation of a new island by volcanism prompted several geologists to wonder if perhaps all dry land had arisen from volcanic action. For the first time, volcanoes were suspected of playing a role in creating landforms.

The illustration to this section is a detail from Ordinaire’s 1802 map of world-wide volcanism (exhibit item 41), showing volcanoes in the Mediterranean. Santorini (here Santorin) is marked with a little volcano, just north of Crete (here Candie), and is further labelled "Vol. soumarin".