Chaiten Volcano Eruption - 6 May, 2008

Chile's Chaiten volcano spewed clouds of gray smoke, hot rocks and toxic gas on Tuesday, forcing authorities to issue an evacuation order for the more than 200 people who remained in the town of Chaiten, emergency officials said.

The volcano, which is about about 750 miles (about 1,210 kilometers) south of the Chilean capital, Santiago, began erupting early Friday, raining gray ash onto Chaiten. The small city is on the Corcovado Gulf, in southern Chile.

The volcano last erupted around 7,420 B.C., according to the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project.