Celebrating Chile’s Independence Day Sep 18, 2019

That’s the Villarrica volcano providing fireworks for our observance of Chile’s Independence Day celebrations—called Fiestas Patrias—taking place September 18 and 19. The second-most active volcano in South America, Villarrica is known to the indigenous Mapuche people as Rucapillán (Devil’s House). The eruption shown in this photo, which was taken on September 2, 2018, alarmed nearby residents, but it wasn’t nearly as destructive as other relatively recent eruptions, like one in 2015 that prompted authorities to evacuate thousands of people.

© Cristobal Saavedra Escobar/Reuters

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