It’s the second
biggest volcano in Europe and Northern Africa, Italy’s colossus Mount Etna is
today showing activity captured by Skylinewebcams.
After a
week of freezing weather two large quakes and an avalanche killing people
trapped in a hotel, Italy’s colossus Mount Etna bursts into life.
Mount Etna
(or Etna; pronunciation: /ˈɛtnə/; Italian: Etna [ˈɛtna] or Mongibello [mondʒiˈbɛllo],
Sicilian: Mungibeddu [mʊndʒɪbˈbɛɖɖʊ] or â Muntagna, Latin: Aetna) is an active
stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of
Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania.
It lies
above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian
Plate. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329 m (10,922 ft.)
high, though this varies with summit eruptions.
It is the
highest peak in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 (459 sq.
mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of
the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the
height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. Only Mount Teide in Tenerife (owned
by Spain) surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region. 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 to also be located underneath it.
Mount Etna
is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant
state of activity. 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. In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.
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