Etna : a history of the mountain and of its eruptions . ich lava once proceeded, there are numeroussmaller vents for the subterranean fires called Bocche,or if very small, Boccarelle, del Fuoco. In the eruption of1669, thirteen mouths opened in the course of a fewdays ; and in the eruption of 1809, twenty new mouthsopened one after the other in a line about six mileslong. Two new craters were formed in the Val delBove in 1852, and seven craters in 1865. The outburstsof lava from lateral cones are no doubt due to the factthat the pressure of lava in the great crater, which isnearly 1000 feet in
Etna : a history of the mountain and of its eruptions . ich lava once proceeded, there are numeroussmaller vents for the subterranean fires called Bocche,or if very small, Boccarelle, del Fuoco. In the eruption of1669, thirteen mouths opened in the course of a fewdays ; and in the eruption of 1809, twenty new mouthsopened one after the other in a line about six mileslong. Two new craters were formed in the Val delBove in 1852, and seven craters in 1865. The outburstsof lava from lateral cones are no doubt due to the factthat the pressure of lava in the great crater, which isnearly 1000 feet in depth, becomes so great that thelava is forced out at some lower point of less most northerly of the minor cones is Monte diMojo, from whence issued the lava of 396 , it is11J miles from the crater; the most southerly cone isMonte Ste Sofia, 16 miles from the crater. Nearly allthe minor cones are within 10 miles of the crater, andthe majority are collected between south-east, andwest, that is, in an angular space of 135°, starting. THE LIBRARYOF CAVERNS. 37 midway between east and south, (45° south of dueeast) to due west, (90° west of due south). Lyellspeaks of the minor cones as the most grand andoriginal feature in the physiognomy of Etna. A number of caverns are met with in various partsof Etna ; Boccacio speaks of the Cavern of Thalia, andseveral early writers allude to the Grotto delle Palombenear Nicolosi. The latter is situated in front of MonteFusara, and the entrance to it is evidently the craterof an extinct monticule. It descends for 78 feet, andat the bottom a cavern is entered by a long shaft;this leads to a second cavern, which abruptly descends,and appears to be continued into the heart of theneighbouring Monti Rossi. Brydone says that peoplehave lost their senses in these caverns, imaginingthat they saw devils, and the spirits of the damned;for it is still very generally believed that Etna is themouth of Hell. Many of the caverns near the
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