Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni

Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni are two volcanic islets in the Santorini caldera that Captain Nemo visits with the Nautilus to observe an active underwater eruption, demonstrating the ongoing geological construction of the Greek Islands through volcanic phenomena.

Location and Volcanic Context

Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni lie in the channel near the island of Santorini, within the Greek Islands. Captain Nemo brings the Nautilus into this channel to offer Professor Aronnax the unusual sight of an underwater eruption. The captain explains that the formation of new islands in this region has not come to an end, and that the globe is continuously under construction in these volcanic waterways thanks to underground fires. He recounts that in the year 19 of the Christian era, a new island called the divine Thera had already appeared in the very place these islets have more recently formed, then sank under the waves, only to rise and sink once more in 69 A.D. From that day until 1866, such plutonic construction work had been in abeyance.

Recent Volcanic Activity (1866)

Captain Nemo describes a series of recent volcanic events that he personally observed. On February 3, 1866, a new islet named George Island emerged in the midst of sulfurous steam near Nea Kameni and was fused to it on the 6th of the same month. Seven days later, on February 13, the islet of Aphroessa appeared, leaving a ten-meter channel between itself and Nea Kameni. The captain was in these seas when that phenomenon occurred and was able to observe its every phase. The islet of Aphroessa was circular in shape, measuring 300 feet in diameter and thirty feet in height, and was made of black, glassy lava mixed with bits of feldspar. Finally, on March 10, a smaller islet called Reka appeared next to Nea Kameni, and since then, these three islets have fused to form one single, selfsame island.

The Nautilus's Experience of the Eruption

When the Nautilus enters the channel between Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni, the water temperature rises to an unbearable 42° centigrade. The sea appears completely white, with steaming sulfurous fumes uncoiling in the midst of waves bubbling like water in a boiler. Professor Aronnax leans his hand against one of the windows but the heat is so great he has to snatch it back. The sea turns from white to red, a coloration caused by the presence of iron salts. Although the lounge is hermetically sealed, it fills with an intolerable stink of sulfur, and scarlet flames of such brightness overpower the electric light. Captain Nemo, whom Aronnax calls "Nemo the Emotionless," gives an order and the Nautilus retreats from this furnace it cannot brave with impunity. A quarter of an hour later, they are breathing fresh air on the surface of the waves.

Narrative Significance

The visit to Nea Kameni and Palea Kameni serves as a vivid demonstration of the volcanic forces that shape the Mediterranean basin. Captain Nemo shows Aronnax a chart of the Greek Islands with the new islets marked in their place, and predicts that the channel they are in will fill up one day, as since 1866 eight little lava islets have surged up in front of the port of St. Nicolas on Palea Kameni. He contrasts the construction of continents by tiny infusoria in the Pacific with the volcanic phenomena that build land here. The episode also provides a moment of reflection on the Nautilus's vulnerability: Aronnax realizes that if Ned Land had chosen these waterways for an escape attempt, they would not have come out alive from this sea of fire.