Mile-High Volcano Explosion

On April 22, 2015 the Calbuco volcano in Los Lagos, Chile erupted for the first time in 40 years. During the 90-minute long eruption the volcano created a pillar of ash that stretched 9.3 miles into the sky. From the ground onlookers could only clearly see about 6 miles of the plume before it began to mix with the awe-inspiring cloud of ash created in the atmosphere above the explosion site. 

This was the biggest eruption in the Calbuco volcano since 1961 when a similar incident sent an ash column seven to nine miles high into the heavens.