Mt. Etna
is (alt. 3300 m) the highest volcano in Europe. Its base has a diameter of 212
km. The territory surrounding the volcano constitutes the Parco dell'Etna (Etna
Park), which includes 18 towns in the provinces of Messina and Catania and
covers 57,000 hectares (220 sq miles) - one of the largest protected areas in
Italy.
The origins of the volcano are to be found in the area of Aci
Castello and Aci Trezza, going back some 500,000/600,000 years. Subsequently the
Valle Colonna-Valle del Bove system was formed, also known as "Premordial Etna".
This system collapsed, and after a dormant period the present-day Etna was
formed. It is also called Mongibello (or 'a Muntagna). One characteristic of the
present volcanic formation of Etna is the variability of the shape of the
eruptive cone, depending whether the eruptive activity is constructive or
destructive, which is the main factor in determining variations in the volcano's
altitude.
Etna Volcano Geology
Country: Italy
Volcano number: 0101-06
Summit Elevation: 3350 m 10,991 feet
Latitude: 37°44'3''N
Longitude: 15°0'16'E
Last eruption:2004-2005
Type: Stratovolcano
Etna introduction
Etna forms part of an extended volcanic runing from
Roman and Campanian volcanic province in wester
Italy to the island of eastern Greece, and which
owes its existence to continuing collision between
the african and eurasian plates.
Mount Etna, towering above Catania, Sicily's second largest city, has one of the world's longest documented records of historical volcanism. Historical lava flows cover much of the surface of this massive basaltic stratovolcano, Italy's highest and most voluminous volcano.
The Mongibello stratovolcano, truncated by several small calderas, was constructed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene over an older shield volcano. The most prominent morphological feature of Etna is the Valle del Bove, a 5 x 10 km horseshoe-shaped caldera open to the east.
Two styles of eruptive activity typically occur at Etna. Persistent explosive eruptions, sometimes with minor lava emissions, take place from one or more of the four prominent summit craters:
1) Central Crater or Voragine ("the chasm")
2) NE Crater (formed in 1911)
3) SE Crater (formed in 1971)
4) Bocca Nuova (formed 1968).
Flank vents, typically with higher effusion rates, produce eruptions from fissures that open progressively downward from near the summit (usually accompanied by strombolian eruptions at the upper end). Cinder cones are commonly constructed over the vents of lower flank lava flows. Lava flows extend to the foot of the volcano on all sides and have reached the sea over a broad area on the SE flank.
Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe, and is one of the largest continental volcanoes. It is located on the island of Sicily, 18 miles (29 km) north of the city of Catania. The 10,991-foot (present summit height is more than 3300 m 3,350-meter) volcano covers 460 square miles (1,190 square kilometers).
© Roberto Caudullo, page last modified on 29 june 2005.
