Two of nature's most spectacular forces produced an incredible brew in the skies of Chile as a volcanic eruption met a lightning storm.
Images attributed to Carlos Gutierrez/UPI
Commentary:
These spectacular photographs depicting lightning intermingled with the towering plume from an erupting volcano are currently circulating via email, blogs and forums. The almost otherworldly sight of these two powerful forces of nature clashing with each other has caused some commentators to suggest that the images have been manipulated. However, the photographs are in fact genuine.
The photographs depict an eruption of the Chaiten volcano in Chile in May 2008. The volcano, which has been dormant for thousands of years, is located around 1300km south of Santiago. An article about the eruption published in The Australian on May 8th 2008 describes the event:
Tonnes of dust and ash from the eruption of the Chaiten volcano poured into the night sky just as an electric storm was passing overhead.
The resulting collision created an extraordinary sight as lightning flickered around the dust cloud in the fiery, orange glow of the volcano.
Several thousand residents were evacuated from the area and the plume from the eruption has left large areas of land covered in a layer of ash.
