Etna Volcano
Updated: 18 apr. 2024 05:46 GMT -
Complex stratovolcano Currently about 3329 m (changing due to eruptive activity and collapse of its crater rims)
Sicily, Italy, 37.75°N / 14.99°E
Current status: minor activity or eruption warning (3 out of 5)
Sicily, Italy, 37.75°N / 14.99°E
Current status: minor activity or eruption warning (3 out of 5)
Last update: 17 apr 2024 (Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report)
Eruption from Mt Etna volcano (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
Mt Etna on Sicily, locally called "Mongibello", is Europe's largest and most active volcano. Its frequent eruptions are often accompanied by large lava flows, but rarely pose danger to inhabited areas. Etna is one of the volcanoes with the longest historic records of eruptions, going back more than 2000 years.
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Eruzioni del vulcano Etna: Near continuously active; some major historic eruptions include 122 BC (large Plinian outbursts that created the small caldera of the "Cratere del Piano"), 1669 AD (devastating flank eruption that destroyed 15 villages and part of Catania), 1787 (Subplinian eruption and one of the most spectacular summit eruptions on record - lava fountains reportedly up to 3000 m high).
Eruptions since 1950 (f: flank / s: summit activity): 1950 (s), 1950-51(f), 1955 (s), 1956 (s), 1956 (f), 1957 (s),1960 (s), 1961 (s), 1964 (f), 1964 (s), 1966 (s), 1966-1971(s), 1968 (f), 1971(f), 1972-1973 (s), 1974 (f), 1974-1975 (s), 1975-1977 (f), 1977-1978 (s), 1978 (f), 1979(s), 1979 (f), 1980 (s), 1981 (s), 1981 (f),1982-1983 (s), 1983(f), 1984(s), 1985(s), 1985(f), 1986(s), 1986-1987 (f), 1987(s), 1988(s), 1989(s), 1989(f), 1990 (s), 1991-93(f), 1995(s), 1996(s), 1997 (s), 1998 (s), 1999 (s), 2000 (s), 2001(s), 2001 (f), 2002(s), 2002-03(f), 2004-2005 (f), 2006 (s), 2007 (s), 2008-2009 (f), 2010(s), 2011-2013(s), 2014-18, 2018(f), 2019-ongoing (s)
Latest nearby earthquakes
Data / ora | Mag. / Prof. | Distanza / Ubicazione | |||
7 apr 15:10 (Rome) | 2.3 10 km | 4.4 km a nord est | Sicily, Italy | Info | |
sabato, 6 aprile 2024 GMT (1 sismo) | |||||
6 apr 08:06 (Rome) | 2.0 3.8 km | 19 km a sud-est | Italy: 1 km SE Viagrande (CT) 3 reports | Info | |
venerdì, 5 aprile 2024 GMT (1 sismo) | |||||
5 apr 21:58 (Rome) | 1.9 32 km | 28 km a nord | Italy: 1 km NW Floresta (ME) | Info | |
domenica, 14 aprile 2024 GMT (1 sismo) | |||||
14 apr 19:27 (Rome) | 1.8 7.1 km | 18 km a ovest | Italy: 7 km SW Bronte (CT) | Info | |
domenica, 7 aprile 2024 GMT (1 sismo) | |||||
7 apr 09:30 (Rome) | 1.7 6.1 km | 6.4 km a ovest | Italy: 10 km SE Bronte (CT) | Info | |
giovedì, 11 aprile 2024 GMT (1 sismo) | |||||
11 apr 10:11 (Rome) | 1.5 0 km | 3.9 km a ovest | Italy: 11 km E Bronte (CT) 1 report | Info |
Background
Mount Etna, towering above Catania, Sicily's second largest city, has one of the world's longest documented records of historical volcanism, dating back to 1500 BC. Historical lava flows cover much of the surface of this massive volcano, which makes it the highest and most voluminous in Italy. Ever since ancient times, the volcano seems to have been in near-constant activity. It is considered, after Kilauea on Hawaii, the second most active, i.e. productive volcano on earth.Two styles of eruptive activity typically occur at Etna:
(1) persistent explosive eruptions, sometimes with minor lava emissions, from one or more of the 4 prominent summit craters, the Bocca Nova, Voragine (the former Central Crater), NE Crater, and SE Crater (the latter formed in 1978).
(2) Flank eruptions, typically with higher effusion rates, are less frequent and originate from fissures that open on the volcano's flanks. Such flank eruptions, such as the spectacular recent ones in 2001 and 2002-03 commonly form cinder cones, which dot the volcano in their hundreds.
Etna Volcano Photos
Il parossismo dell'Etna dal cratere Voragine del 4 dicembre 2015, visto da Cesarò (Photo: Giuseppe Famiani)
Gruppo su una stretta sporgenza che separa due bocche del vulcano Etna, Italia. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
Dopo aver raggiunto il suo picco, l'eruzione svanisce rapidamente, ma un denso pennacchio di cenere marrone sorge ancora alto dalla bocca fessura. (Photo: Tom Pfeiffer)
Veduta dell'Etna dal volo Alitalia da Trieste a Catania del 21 aprile 2012 (Photo: marcofulle)
Latest satellite images
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