Carved Lava Rocks on Mount Etna
Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, currently standing 3,329 metres (10,922 ft) high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m (69 ft) lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km² (460 sq mi) with a circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations. Other eruptions occur on the flanks, where there are more than 300 vents, ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of meters across. Summit eruptions can be highly explosive and are extremely spectacular, but are rarely threatening for the inhabited areas around the volcano. On the contrary, flank eruptions can occur down to a few hundred meters altitude, close to the populated areas. In 2003 the eruption also completely destroyed the tourist station Piano Provenzana, on the north eastern flank of the volcano, and part of the tourist station "Etna Sud" around the Rifugio Sapienza on the south flank. Footage from the eruptions was recorded by Lucas film and integrated into the landscape of the planet Mustafar in the 2005 film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Rifugio Sapienza is near the site of a cable car station which had previously been destroyed in the 1983 eruption; it has now been rebuilt.
Size: 4800px × 3499px
Location: Carved Lava Rocks on Mount Etna
Photo credit: © Brenda Kean / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: black, cable, car, catania, crater, danger, eruption, eruptions, etna, fertile, floes, flows, italy, lava, messina, micro-climate, mount, rifugio, rocks, sapienza, sicily, summit, volcano
