The region has a variety of geological hazards which have closely interacted with human activity and land use patterns. Among others, in the eastern Mediterranean, the [[Thera eruption]], dated to the 17th or 16th century BC, caused a large [[tsunami]] that some experts hypothesise devastated the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan civilisation]] on the nearby island of Crete, further leading some to believe that this may have been the catastrophe that inspired the [[Atlantis]] legend. [[Mount Vesuvius]] is the only active [[volcano]] on the European mainland, while others, [[Mount Etna]] and [[Stromboli]], are on neighbouring islands. The region around Vesuvius including the [[Phlegraean Fields]] Caldera west of Naples are quite active and constitute the most densely populated volcanic region in the world where an eruptive event may occur within decades.