Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcanic Complex, Chile

On June 4, 2011, a fissure opened in Chile's Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex, sending ash 45,000 feet (14,000 meters) into the air. This image, taken on June 11, 2011, shows the path of the volcanic ash plume. Winds blowing from the west carried the plume downwind, across Argentina and eventually reaching the South Atlantic Ocean.

Clear skies allow the snow-covered Andes Mountains to be seen just north and south of the erupting volcano. The opposite is true for areas downwind of the volcano beneath the highest concentrations of volcanic ash. It is hard for even the tiniest bit of sunlight to penetrate the thick plume as revealed by the dark shadow cast on the earth's surface directly south of the plume.

The width of the plume increases with increasing distance from the volcano as particulates disperse in the atmosphere. The zigzag path of the plume over Argentina suggests shifts in wind direction. East of the Andes, heavier volcanic ash sediment has settled on the land below, blanketing large portions of Argentina. It appears that some of the settled ash has been picked up again, this time by surface winds that may eventually carry the sediment out to sea.

A high resolution image acquired 6 weeks later shows ash covering the mountain slopes and pumice floating in lakes.