TUFF.. TUFA?.. IGNIMBRITE – Pyroclastic Deposits

Erosional structures at Göreme, central Cappadocia Region. The tuff is thought to have been deposited by the Mount Erciyes eruption ~2.6 ma, covering an area of about 20,000 km². This was the last of the series of great Cappadocian ignimbrites. (© Claude Valette, via Wikimedia)

In many descriptions of volcanoes and their eruption histories we stumble upon the terms Tuff, Tufa or Ignimbrite. Most every self-respecting volcano has one or all of them. Generally it becomes obvious from the context that they refer to widespread deposits of volcanic materials. But what exactly is an ignimbrite?, is it different to tuff?, and where do they all come from?

Tuff and ignimbrite are clastic rocks composed of volcanic

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Fisher Caldera, Alaska – The largest Caldera System in the State

Historically Active Volcanoes of Alaska. Image courtesy AVO. https://avo.alaska.edu/images/dbimages/display/1258656665_ak6.jpg

NISYROS – (re-)Visited

Nisyros: Caldera view from above Nikia village.

So far, when I wrote about volcanoes around the world, I could only dream of ever visiting them. Researching for my first Nisyros post, though, it occurred to me that the idea of a short holiday there was not entirely out-of-bounds. It didn’t take long and I had convinced daughter & granddaughter to come with me. We travelled to Nisyros in October, and, what can I say – it was a wonderful, if too short a holiday! Here are some impressions, thoughts and photos from our visit.