--- description: It was the volcano's first eruption in more than four decades. title: See 9 Stunning Photos From the Volcano Eruption in Chile image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30b01c97ed53ac8d/6987ecf8e53aba4e544db85e/chile-volcano-9.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Chile](/tag/chile/) ## Chile Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # See 9 Stunning Photos From the Volcano Eruption in Chile by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 26, 2015 8:02 PM CUT  Lightning illuminates a cloud of ash as lava spews from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile on April 23, 2015. Lightning illuminates a cloud of ash as lava spews from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile on April 23, 2015.Martin Bernetti—AFP/Getty Images by [TIME Photo](/author/time-photo/) ## TIME Photo Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 26, 2015 8:02 PM CUT Last week’s eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile was its first in more than four decades. Officials issued a red alert for a nearby city, Puerto Montt, and evacuated more than 1,500 people in a six-mile radius of the volcano—some 600 miles south of Santiago—as ash began to spew into the air. _Read next:_ [_Life and Death in One Picture After Quake Hits Nepal_](http://time.com/3835915/?iid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/autoplay/?xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined")  Lightning illuminates a cloud of ash as lava spews from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile on April 23, 2015. Martin Bernetti—AFP/Getty Images  The sun illuminates ash from the Calbuco volcano on April 22, 2015. Alex Vidal Brecas—EPA  An ash-covered boat sits in the backyard of a home just north of the Calbuco volcano on April 23, 2015. Ivan Alvarado—Reuters  Ash rises from the Calbuco volcano, seen from Puerto Varas, just miles north of the eruption, April 22, 2015. Carlos Gutierrez—Reuters  A child's bicycle sits covered in ash on the outskirts of Calbuco volcano on April 22, 2015. Felipe Trueba—EPA  Children from Puerto Varas look on as ash rises from the Calbuco volcano on April 22, 2015. Carlos Gutierrez—Reuters  A man sweeps volcanic ash from the rooftop of his home in Puerto Varas, Chile, April 24, 2015. Luis Hidalgo—AP  The entrance of a house is covered in a thick layer of ash from the eruption of the Calbuco volcano in Chile, on April 23, 2015. Luis Hidalgo—AP  Lava and lightning illuminate a cloud of ash during an eruption of the Calbuco volcano on April 23, 2015. Francisco Negroni—AFP/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3835959/chile-volcano-calbuco-eruption/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3835959/chile-volcano-calbuco-eruption/"},"headline":"See 9 Stunning Photos From the Volcano Eruption in Chile","datePublished":"2015-04-26T20:02:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:04:23.217Z","description":"It was the volcano's first eruption in more than four decades","url":"https://time.com/3835959/chile-volcano-calbuco-eruption/","keywords":["Chile","photography","Volcano","natural disaster","eruption"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30b01c97ed53ac8d/6987ecf8e53aba4e544db85e/chile-volcano-9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Photo","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-photo/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt30b01c97ed53ac8d/6987ecf8e53aba4e544db85e/chile-volcano-9.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Calbuco volcano eruption in chile","caption":"Lightning illuminates a cloud of ash as lava spews from the Calbuco volcano in southern Chile","creditText":"Martin Bernetti—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/chile/","name":"Chile"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3835959/chile-volcano-calbuco-eruption/","name":"See 9 Stunning Photos From the Volcano Eruption in Chile"}}]}] ```