Tourists exploring areas below the highly dangerous summit of Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy, are warned to avoid edges of craters, fissures and vents belching clouds of steam and gas from deep within the mountain. Visitors access authorised ‘safe’ crater zones at 2,920m (9,590 ft) by cable car or 4x4 minibus and join official guided walking tours rather than risk the shifting terrain of ash, cinders and loose stones on their own. Etna, Europe’s highest active volcano, has been erupting for about 500,000 years, with many recent eruptions from vents in its flanks as well as from the summit.
Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy: tourists exploring authorised zones below the volcano’s active and highly dangerous summit are warned to keep well clear of the edge of craters, fissures and vents belching clouds of steam and gas from deep within the mountain. Visitors reaching the Sapienza Refuge at around 1,920m (6,300 ft) usually climb to the ‘safe’ crater zones at 2,920m (9,590 ft) by cable cars or rugged off-road minibuses. Most join official 40-minute guided walking tours of the authorised zones rather than risk lone exploration of the ever-shifting terrain of ash, cinders and loose stones. The entire mountain above 800m (2,620 ft), an area of about 60,000 hectares, is controlled by the Parco dell’Etna regional park, which safeguards the volcano’s unique landscape and preserves its very diverse ecosystems, with the levels of environmental protection rising towards the summit. At around 3,326 m (10,900 ft), Etna is Western Europe’s highest active volcano and is Italy’s highest peak south of the Alps. Activity began around 500,000 years ago, with many highly explosive eruptions since and increasing activity in the last few centuries. There have been 60 eruptions since 1600 through vents and many more from the summit, mostly in the last 120 years. Since 2000, there have been four eruptions through flank vents, as well as summit eruptions in 2006, 2007-8, 2012 and 2018.
Size: 4256px × 2832px
Location: Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
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