These stunning photographs, taken by professional Chilean photographer Francisco Negroni, perfectly capture the raw primal fury of a volcanic eruption in the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle mountain chain in central Chile.

The intrepid adventurer spent a night just one kilometer from the eruption capturing these incredible photos. The darkness of the night only served to emphasize the red-hot lava’s glow.

The Cordón Caulle volcano began erupting in June 4th, 2011. It is still active now, although its activity is dying down substantially. When it began, however, it caused significant economic and environmental chaos in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. [Read more...]

Perhaps even more interesting than the eruption of magma is the incredible light show happening in the atmosphere. The massive amount of ash and other particulates released by the volcano rub together in the atmosphere, generating loads of static electricity. This electricity, along with some of the steam released in the eruption, causes the volcanic plume to discharge lightning bolt. This is called a “dirty thunderstorm.”

When Negroni isn’t busy dodging drops of flying magma, he also works as a licensed adventure tourism guide, allowing him to always stay outdoors in the environments that he loves to photograph.

Source: (via: mymodernmet)