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Chile's Puyehue Volcano Erupts

Jun 6, 2011 |

On Saturday, a volcano in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle chain of south-central Chile erupted after lying dormant for more than 50 years. The government evacuated several thousand residents as Puyehue threw ash more than 6 miles (10 km) into the sky, pushing the plume toward neighboring Argentina. Authorities had already put the area around the volcano on alert after a flurry of earthquakes earlier on Saturday -- at one point, the tremors reached an average of 230 per hour. Collected here are a handful of spectacular photographs of the eruption this weekend and its effects in Chile and Argentina. [21 photos]

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Lightning bolts strike around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain near southern Osorno city June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado)

An aerial view shows ash and steam from an eruption in the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain near Osorno city in south-central Chile, on June 5, 2011. Picture taken through a plane window. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado) #

NASA Aqua satellite image of the eruption of Puyehue volcano, seen from low Earth orbit on June 4, 2011. (NASA) #

Locals stay in front of their home as ash and steam rise from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain near Osorno city in south-central Chile June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado) #

A helicopter flies past a column of ash and steam rising from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain near Osorno city in south-central Chile June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado) #

Ash and steam erupti from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain near Osorno city, Chile, on June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Air Force of Chile/Handout) #

A cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano, above southern Chile, 870 km south of Santiago, on June 5, 2011. (Alvaro Vidal/AFP/Getty Images) #

A cloud of ash from Puyehue volcano rises into the sky above Osorno in southern Chile, on June 5, 2011. (Claudio Santana/AFP/Getty Images) #

The sky over Lake Nahuel Huapi is darkened by ash from Chile's Puyehue volcano 100 miles (160 km) to the west, in the Argentine resort city of Bariloche, on June 4, 2011. (Reuters/Chiwi Giambirtone) #

A cloud of ash pours from Puyehue volcano in southern Chile, at sunset on June 5, 2011. (Claudio Santana/AFP/Getty Images) #

Lightning bolts strike around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain in the Patagonia region, on June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Carlos Gutierrez) #

A vehicle rides on a street covered with ash from Chile's Puyehue volcano in San Carlos de Bariloche, southern Argentina, on Saturday, June 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Alfredo Leiva) #

Lightning bolts strike around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain in the Patagonia region at sunrise, on June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Carlos Gutierrez) #

Chunks of pumice from Chile's Puyehue-Cordon Caulle chain volcano are held by an Argentine border police officer at the Cardenal Samore border pass between Argentina and Chile, on June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Gendarmeria) #

Lightning flashes amid a cloud of ash billowing from Puyehue volcano near Osorno, Chile, on June 5, 2011. (Claudio Santana/AFP/Getty Images) #

Lightning bolts strike around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain in the Patagonia region June 4, 2011. (Reuters/Carlos Gutierrez) #

Lightning bolts strike around the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain on June 5, 2011. (Reuters/Ivan Alvarado) #

Volcanic lightning is seen over the Puyehue volcano, on Sunday June 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Francisco Negroni, AgenciaUno) #

View of an ash-covered street from Chile's Puyehue volcano 100 miles (160 km) to the west, in the Argentine resort city of San Carlos de Bariloche, on June 4, 2011. (Reuters/Trilce Reyes) #

A view of the 9th hole green at the Llao Llao hotel golf course in Bariloche, Argentina, on June 5, 2011, covered by ashes from Chile's Puyehue volcano. (Francisco Ramos Mejia/AFP/Getty Images) #

A car, completely covered in volcanic ash from Chile's Puyehue volcano, sits in San Carlos de Bariloche, southern Argentina, on Sunday June 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Alfredo Leiva) #