Mount Etna
Mount Etna | |
---|---|
Ultra | |
Coordinates | 37°45.3′N 14°59.7′E / 37.7550°N 14.9950°E[1] |
Naming | |
Native name | Muncibbeḍḍu (Sicilian) |
Geography | |
Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, Italy | |
Geology | |
Age of rock | 350,000 – 500,000 years |
Mountain type | Stratovolcano |
Last eruption | 11 November 2023[3] |
Criteria | Natural: viii |
Reference | 1427 |
Inscription | 2013 (37th Session) |
Area | 19,237 ha |
Buffer zone | 26,220 ha |
Mount Etna, or simply Etna (
Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 (459 sq mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km (87 miles). This makes it by far the largest of the three
In Greek mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under this mountain by Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder and king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said also to be underneath it.[8]
Mount Etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes and is in an almost constant state of activity. The fertile volcanic soils produced from this activity support extensive
Etymology and mythology
One view is that the word Etna is from the Greek αἴθω (aíthō), meaning "I burn", through an
The volcano is also known as Muncibbeḍḍu in Sicilian and Mongibello in Italian, generally regarded as deriving from the Romance word monte/munti plus the Arabic word jabal (جبل), both meaning 'mountain'.[15] According to another hypothesis, the term comes from the Latin Mulciber (qui ignem mulcet, 'he who placates the fire'), one of the Latin names of the god Vulcan.[citation needed] Today, the name Mongibello is used for the area of Mount Etna containing the two central craters, and the craters located southeast and northeast of the volcanic cone.
The name Mongibel is found in
The Fada de Gibel of the Castle of Gibaldar (Fairy of Etna) appears in Jaufre, the only surviving Arthurian romance in the Occitan language, the composition of which is dated to between 1180 and 1230. However, in Jaufre, while it is clear from her name that the fairy queen in question is Morgan le Fay, the rich underworld queendom of which she is the mistress is accessed, not through a fiery grotto on the slopes of Etna, but through a 'fountain' (i.e., a spring) – a circumstance more in keeping with Morgan's original watery, rather than fiery, associations, before her incorporation into the folklore of Sicily.[19] For another Sicilian conception of the fairy realm or castle of Morgan le Fay – see Fata Morgana (mirage) re. an optical phenomenon common in the Strait of Messina.
History of volcanic eruptions
Eruptions of Etna follow multiple patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are five distinct craters – the Northeast Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca Nuova, and two at the Southeast Crater Complex. Other eruptions occur on the flanks, which have more than 300 vents ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of metres across. Summit eruptions can be highly explosive and spectacular but rarely threaten the inhabited areas around the volcano. In contrast, flank eruptions can occur down to a few hundred metres altitude, close to or even well within the inhabited areas. Numerous villages and small towns lie around or on cones of past flank eruptions. Since the year AD 1600, at least 60 flank eruptions and countless summit eruptions have occurred; nearly half of these have happened since the start of the 20th century. Since 2000, Etna has had four flank eruptions – in 2001, 2002–2003, 2004–2005, and 2008–2009. Summit eruptions occurred in 2006, 2007–2008, January–April 2012, in July–October 2012, December 2018 and again in February 2021.
Geological history
Volcanic activity first took place at Etna about 500,000 years ago, with eruptions occurring beneath the sea off the ancient coastline of Sicily.[20] About 300,000 years ago, volcanism began occurring to the southwest of the summit (centre top of the volcano), then activity moved towards the present centre 170,000 years ago. Eruptions at this time built up the first major volcanic edifice, forming a stratovolcano in alternating explosive and effusive eruptions. The growth of the mountain was occasionally interrupted by major eruptions, leading to the collapse of the summit to form calderas.
From about 35,000 to 15,000 years ago, Etna experienced some highly explosive eruptions, generating large pyroclastic flows, which left extensive ignimbrite deposits. Ash from these eruptions has been found as far away as south of Rome's border, 800 km (497 mi) to the north.
Thousands of years ago, the eastern flank of the mountain experienced a catastrophic collapse, generating an enormous landslide in an event similar to that seen in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The landslide left a large depression in the side of the volcano, known as 'Valle del Bove' (Valley of the Ox). Research published in 2006 suggested this occurred around 8,000 years ago, and caused a huge tsunami, which left its mark in several places in the eastern Mediterranean.[21]
The steep walls of the valley have suffered subsequent collapses on numerous occasions. The strata exposed in the valley walls provide an important and easily accessible record of Etna's eruptive history.
The most recent collapse event at the summit of Etna is thought to have occurred about 2,000 years ago, forming what is known as the Piano Caldera. This caldera has been almost entirely filled by subsequent lava eruptions but is still visible as a distinct break in the slope of the mountain near the base of the present-day summit cone.
Mount Etna is moving towards the Mediterranean Sea at an average rate of 14 mm (0.55 in) per year, the massif sliding on an unconsolidated layer above the older sloping terrain.[22][23]
Historical eruptions
The first known record of eruption at Etna is that of Diodorus Siculus.[24]
In 396 BCE, an eruption of Etna reportedly thwarted the
A particularly violent explosive (Plinian) summit eruption occurred in 122 BCE, and caused heavy tephra falls to the southeast, including the town of Catania, where many roofs collapsed.[25] To help with reconstruction after the devastating effects of the eruption, the Roman government exempted the population of Catania from paying taxes for ten years.[citation needed]
The Roman poet Virgil gave what was probably a first-hand description of an eruption in the Aeneid.[26]
During the first 1500 years CE, many eruptions went unrecorded (or records have been lost); among the more significant are: (1) an eruption in about 1030 CE near Monte Ilice on the lower southeast flank, which produced a lava flow that travelled about 10 km, reaching the sea north of Acireale; the villages of Santa Tecla and Stazzo are built on the broad delta built by this lava flow into the sea; (2) an eruption in about 1160 (or 1224), from a fissure at only 350–450 m (1,148–1,476 ft) elevation on the south-southeast flank near the village of Mascalucia, whose lava flow reached the sea just to the north of Catania, in the area now occupied by the portion of the city named Ognina.[citation needed]
Rabban Bar Sauma, a Chinese traveller to the West, recorded the eruption of Etna on 18 June 1287.[27]
The
Since 1750, seven of Etna's eruptions have had durations of more than 5 years, more than any other volcano except Vesuvius.[32]
Modern-day eruptions (1923–present day)
As "Europe's most active volcano",[33] eruptions occur frequently (with as many as 16 eruptions taking place in 2001).[33] However, several eruptions of note have occurred over the last century.
A major eruption took place in June 1923, lasting from 6 June until 29 June.
Other major 20th-century eruptions occurred in 1949, 1971, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1991–1993. In 1971, lava buried the Etna Observatory (built in the late 19th century), destroyed the first generation of the Etna cable-car, and seriously threatened several small villages on Etna's east flank. In March 1981, the town of Randazzo on the northwestern flank of Etna narrowly escaped destruction by unusually fast-moving lava flows. That eruption was remarkably similar to one in 1928 that destroyed Mascali. The 1991–1993 eruption saw the town of
Following six years (1995–2001) of unusually intense activity at the four summit craters of Etna, the volcano produced its first flank eruption since 1991–1993 in July–August 2001. This eruption, which involved activity from seven distinct eruptive fissures mostly on the south slope of the volcano, was well covered by the mass-media because it occurred at the height of the tourist season and numerous reporters and journalists were already in Italy to cover the
In 2002–2003, a much larger eruption threw up a huge column of ash that could easily be seen from space and fell as far away as
On 4 September 2007, a major episode of lava fountaining occurred from the new vent on the east side of the Southeast Crater, also producing a plume of ash and scoriae which fell over the east flank of the volcano. A lava flow travelled about 4.5 km (2.8 mi) into the uninhabited Valle del Bove. This eruption was visible far into the plains of Sicily, ending the following morning between the hours of 5 to 7 a.m. local time.
An eruption on the morning of 13 May 2008, immediately to the east of Etna's summit craters was accompanied by a swarm of more than 200 earthquakes and significant ground deformation in the summit area. The eruption continued at a slowly diminishing rate for 417 days, until 6 July 2009, making this the longest flank eruption of Etna since the 1991–1993 eruption that lasted 473 days. Previous eruptions, in 2001, 2002–2003, and 2004–2005 had lasted 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, respectively. Lava flows advanced 6.5 km during the first few days of this eruption but thereafter stagnated at many minor distances from the vents; during the last months of the eruption lava rarely advanced more than 1 km downslope.
Through January 2011 to February 2012, the summit craters of Etna were the site of intense activity. Frequent eruptions and ash columns forced the authorities to shut down the Catania airport on several occasions.
[38][39][40][41][42][43]
The July 2011 episode also endangered the Sapienza Refuge, the main tourist hub on the volcano, but the lava flow was successfully diverted.[
On 3 December 2015, an eruption occurred which climaxed between 03:20 and 04:10 local time. The Voragine crater exhibited a lava fountain which reached 1 km (3,300 ft) in height, with an ash plume which reached 3 km (9,800 ft) in height.
An eruption on 16 March 2017 injured 10 people, including a BBC News television crew, after magma exploded upon contact with snow.[49][50]
An eruption on 24 December 2018, following a dyke intrusion at shallow depth, spewed ash into the air, forcing the closure of airspace around Mount Etna. Two days later, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake shook the town of Fleri and surrounding towns and hamlets in the Province of Catania, damaging buildings and injuring four people.[51][52]
Beginning in February 2021, Mount Etna began a series of explosive eruptions, which have had an impact on nearby villages and cities, with volcanic ash and rock falling as far away as Catania. As of 12 March 2021[update], the volcano has erupted 11 times in three weeks.[53] The eruptions have consistently sent ash clouds over 10 km (33,000 ft) into the air, closing Sicilian airports. There have been no reports of injuries.[needs update]
In February 2022 there were two eruptions. On 11 February 2022, at 6 pm, there were lava fountains from the Southeast Crater which became a single Strombolian eruption by 7 pm. Between 10 and 11 pm it had reached a height of almost 1,000 m and lava bombs were thrown at a considerable distance. Ash was blown west by the wind and then turned southeast. There was large lava flow in the western flank. On 19 February at 10.15 am there was an explosive eruption, again from the Southeast Crater, high lava fountains and lava flows, the longest of which went down the north-eastern flank towards the Bove Valley. [54][55][56]
On 29 May 2022 a sudden collapse of the Southeast Crater created a fracture on its northern flank at an elevation of circa 2,800 m (9,186 ft). A small lava flow emerged and headed in the direction of the Leone Valley, just above the much larger Bove Valley. It continued for three days and was accompanied by small and sporadic eruptions from two of the many vents at the top of this crater.[57][58]
Volcanic explosivity index of recent eruptions
The
VEI | Number of eruptions (total=49) |
---|---|
VEI 0 | 1
|
VEI 1 | 17
|
VEI 2 | 24
|
VEI 3 | 7
|
Vortex rings
In the 1970s Etna erupted vortex rings,[60] one of the first recorded events of this type, which are extremely rare. This happened again in 2000.[61] Video footage of 8 June 2000 event was captured.[62][63] Another event occurred on 11 April 2013.[64] Other similar events occurred during the summer of 2023 (see photo) and 2024.[65]
Geopolitical boundaries
The borders of ten municipalities (Adrano, Biancavilla, Belpasso, Bronte (from two sides), Castiglione di Sicilia, Maletto, Nicolosi, Randazzo, Sant'Alfio, Zafferana Etnea) meet on the summit of Mount Etna, making this a multipoint of elevenfold complexity.
Facilities
Etna is one of Sicily's main tourist attractions, with thousands of visitors every year.
Ferrovia Circumetnea – Round-Etna railway – is a narrow-gauge railway constructed between 1889 and 1895. It runs around the volcano in a 110-km long semi-circle starting in Catania and ending in Riposto 28 km north of Catania.
There are two ski resorts on Etna: one at the Sapienza Refuge, with a chairlift and three ski lifts, and a smaller one on the north, at Piano Provenzana near Linguaglossa, with three lifts and a chairlift.[69]
Sapienza Refuge was the finish of Stage 9 of the 2011 Giro d'Italia and Stage 4 of the 2017 Giro.
See also
- Genista aetnensis, the Mount Etna broom
- List of Italian regions by highest point
- List of volcanoes in Italy
- Mount Vesuvius
- Sacred mountains
- Volcanic Seven Summits
Notes
- ^
- ^ a b Pezzella, Francesca. "L'Etna si supera. Nuovo record di altezza a 3357 metri". www.ingv.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
- ^ "Italy's Mount Etna Volcano Erupted Again — See the Stunning Photos". Travel and Leisure. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
- ^ Suda, alphaiota, 375
- ^ "Etna & Aeolian Islands 2012 – Cambridge Volcanology". www.volcano.group.cam.ac.uk. October 2012.
- ^ Laura Geggel (16 August 2021). "Mount Etna is 100 feet taller than it was 6 months ago". Space.com.
- ^ "Italy volcanoes and Volcanics". USGS. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011.
- ^ Aelian, Hist. An. xi. 3, referenced under Aetnaeus in William Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
- S2CID 238802288.
- ^ "Decade Volcanoes". United States Geological Survey.
- ^ Mount Etna Becomes a World Heritage Site, Italy Magazine, 4 May 2013
- ^ According to Adrian Room's book Place-names of the World. Room dismisses the hypothesis that 'Etna' has a Greek derivation. "Volcano – Podictionary Word of the Day". Blog.oup.com. 29 April 2010. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Woodhouse's English-Greek Dictionary Page Image". Artflx.uchicago.edu. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- S2CID 162316105
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
- ISBN 0-8153-2865-6.
- ^ Loomis, Roger Sherman Wales and the Arthurian Legend, pub. University of Wales Press, Cardiff 1956 and reprinted by Folcroft Press 1973, Chapter 5 King Arthur and the Antipodes, pp. 70–71.
- ^ Loomis, Roger Sherman, Arthurian Tradition And Chrétien de Troyes pub. Columbia University Press, New York 1948, pp. 66 & 306.
- ISBN 0 19 811588 1
- ^ Martin-Schutz, Alicia. "Mt. Etna".
- S2CID 129407252. This claim has been contested, however, as "there is no evidence of tsunami deposits, nor of sudden and catastrophic changes such as damaged structures, whole animal carcases or evidence of traumatic injury, such as might be expected to result from a tsunami event" (Galili E., Rosen B., Evron M.W., Hershkovitz I., Eshed V., Horwitz L.K. (2020) Israel: Submerged Prehistoric Sites and Settlements on the Mediterranean Coastline—the Current State of the Art. In: Bailey G., Galanidou N., Peeters H., Jöns H., Mennenga M. (eds) The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes. Coastal Research Library, vol 35. Springer, Cham). See also, Galili, E., Horwitz, L. K., Hershkovitz, I., Eshed, V., Salamon, A., Zviely, D., Weinstein‐Evron, M., and Greenfield, H. (2008), Comment on "Holocene tsunamis from Mount Etna and the fate of Israeli Neolithic communities" by Maria Teresa Pareschi, Enzo Boschi, and Massimiliano Favalli, Geophysical Research Letters, 35, L08311.
- PMID 31258237.
- ^ Gravitational collapse of Mount Etna’s southeastern flank
- S2CID 44241302.
- ^ Aeneid, edition of Theodore C. Williams, ca. 1908 [book III, lines 569–579]
- ^ The history of the life and travels of Rabban Sawma
- ^ "Mount Etna (volcano, Italy)". (the Encyclopædia Britannica has been wrongly cited as one source of this false information).
- ^ The Encyclopaedia Britannica 5th edition (1817) quotes from the eyewitness report of Lord Winchelsea, Ambassador to Constantinople, to the Court of England. It happens not to mention casualties. Encyclopaedia Britannica: Or, A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Miscellaneous Literature, Enlarged and Improved. Vol. 1 (5th ed.). Edinburgh: A. Constable. 1823. pp. 248–249. See also: Charles Hutton; Georges Shaw; Richard Pearson (1809). The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, from Their Commencement, in 1665, to the Year 1800; Abridged...: From 1665 to 1672. 1. London. pp. 357–358, 383–387, 637–638.
- ^ "Eruption of Snow-Covered Mt. Etna Kills 2 Tourists and Injures 7 Others". LA Times. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ^ "Etna and Man". Boris.vulcanoetna.it. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- . Retrieved 15 December 2020.
- ^ a b "The Continuing Eruption of Mt. Etna". Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. 23 July 2001. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- S2CID 6883748.
- PMID 8867507.
- .
- ^ "press_text_booklet.indd" (PDF). Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Italy's Mt Etna erupts – WORLD News".
- ^ Ken Kremer (15 January 2011). "Spectacular Eruptions of Mt. Etna in Sicily from Space and Earth". Universetoday.com. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "There she blows! Stunning images of Mount Etna eruption", Mirror, 9 February 2012
- ^ Eruption of Mt. Etna closes airport in Catania, Agi.it, 23 October 2011
- ^ "INGV – Etna Observatory". Ct.ingv.it. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "BBC News – Footage shows Mount Etna spewing lava and ash". Bbc.co.uk. 12 May 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2011.
- ^ "Etna Volcano (Italy): Eruption Update & Current Activity". Volcanodiscovery.com. 10 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
- ^ Klemetti, Erik (3 December 2015). "Italy's Etna Unleashes a Short but Spectacular Eruption". Wired. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Etna volcano – eruption update". Volcano Discovery. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
- ^ "Etna show, nuova fontana di lava: non-si ferma l'emissione di cenere". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 4 December 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
- .
- ^ Balmer, Crispian (16 March 2017). "Volcanic explosion on Mount Etna injures 10 people". Reuters. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "Mount Etna: BBC crew caught up in volcano blast". BBC News. 16 March 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2017.
- ^ "Mount Etna: 4.8-magnitude earthquake jolts Sicily". The Guardian. Rome. Agence France-Presse. 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
- ^ "Terremoto 4 km NE Viagrande (CT), Magnitudo Mw 4.9, 26 dicembre 2018 ore 03:19:14 (Fuso Orario Italia) » INGV Centro Nazionale Terremoti". cnt.rm.ingv.it. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Bonaccorso, Nicole (10 March 2021). "Mount Etna Erupts for the 11th Time in Three Weeks (PHOTOS)". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
- ^ GeoEtna [1]
- ^ "Etna spews smoke and ashes in spectacular new eruption". France24. 16 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
- ^ Washington Post Staff (11 February 2022). "Mount Etna volcano in Italy puts on spectacular show". The Washington Post. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ GeoEtna [2]
- ^ Mount Etna Eruption of 29 May 2022 [3]
- ^ "Etna: Eruptive History". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
- ^ "SwissEduc – Stromboli online – Etna 2000". www.stromboli.net.
- ^ "Etna hoops it up". BBC News. 31 March 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
- ^ "Erupting Mt. Etna coughs up a smoke ring". WJLA (ABC) Storm Watch 7. 16 August 2011. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ Geoff, Mackley. "Mt Etna – Sicily, Italy – the greatest show on earth !". Geoff Mackley. Archived from the original on 30 December 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ "Mount Etna blows smoke rings during volcanic eruptions". NBC News. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
- ^ "Vortex rings made of water vapour rise from Italy's Mount Etna volcano". ABC News. 8 April 2024. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ Etna National Park, Italy, National Geographic Travel, 8 April 2011, archived from the original on 17 April 2011
- ^ Rifugio Sapienza: who we are, archived from the original on 26 March 2013
- ^ Funivia dell'Etna, Lonely Planet, archived from the original on 12 July 2013, retrieved 3 April 2013
- ^ "Skiing Mount Etna: Hit the slopes one day, sail the next", Telegraph, 12 March 2010
References
- "Etna". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 25 December 2008.
- Chester, D. K.; Duncan, A. M.; Guest, J. E.; Kilburn, C. R. J. (1985). Mount Etna: The Anatomy of a Volcano. ISBN 978-0-8047-1308-5.
External links
- Mount Etna Nord Live Webcams by Linguaglossa H24
- "VONA bulletin".
- Mount Etna Regional Park
- Youtube video: eruption phases of Etna in 2018 (in Italian)
- Smithsonian Institution: Global Volcanism Program: Etna
- Footage of the 1971 eruption is featured in the 1979 film Days of Fury, hosted by Vincent Price