etna is europe's largest volcano (its volume is at least 350 cubic kilometers), and one of the most active (in the sense of "productive" and eruption frequency) volcanoes on earth, with frequent periods of intermittent to persistent activity in the summit area and major eruptions from eruptive centers on its flanks every 2-20 years.
the main feature of etnean activity is voluminous lava emission, but strong explosive activity occurs occasionally, mostly from its presently four summit craters.
many geographic maps of etna show a second name at the site of the volcano, mongibello, a name derived from a mixture of the roman word mons and the arabian word gibele, or jebel, both of which mean "mountain". etna has thus the privilege to be "mount mountain" in the mentality of the people living around it, and this is justified, in sicily etna is the mountain, "a' muntagna" in the local dialect.
it is another noteworthy detail of the consideration etna enjoys in the hearts of the people dwelling at its sides that the mountain is considered to be female which is not a typical way of considering mountains in europe. etna is the big mamma (and when seeing it with its many little cones from flank eruptions, this idea is quite understandable) who gives and takes, giving birth to this particular place on earth. etna is particular for a number of reasons. first, it has the longest record of historical eruptions (see volcanoes of the world, 1994 edition) among all volcanoes on this planet, its first historically documented eruption occurring at about 1500 bc.
the total number of eruptions is 209 eruptions (18 among them questionable) through late 1993 (volcanoes of the world). to these, there has now to be added the ongoing activity in etna's summit area initiated in the summer of 1995. etna lies in an area that is still not well understood from a geological standpoint.
while some scientists relate the etnean volcanism to subduction of the ionian oceanic seafloor beneath the calabrian arc (with volcanism on the aeolian islands as one consequence), others postulate a hot spot beneath etna, thus explaining its high lava production and fluid mafic magmas.
still another hypothesis sees etna in a complex rifting environment, and among the few things which are quite well understood is the fact that the volcano lies at the intersection of several major fault systems.
whatever of this is true, it is evident that etna lies in a very complex geodynamic environment hardly comparable to any other region on earth. there is some evidence that etna is but the most recent manifestation of volcanism fed from a very long-lived mantle source, having caused numerous earlier phases of mafic volcanism in the monti iblei, through the early pleistocene.
another peculiarity of etna lies in the fact that, like all dangerous italian volcanoes, it is densely populated. the catania area is sicily's largest urban agglomerate (with more than 1 million people), consisting not only of the city itself but of numerous smaller towns and villages whose outskirts extend to altitudes of up to 900 m (nicolosi, milo, fornazzo). lava flows from historical eruptions of etna have frequently covered areas now occupied by villages and tourist facilities. while vesuvio is presently inactive, and may remain so for centuries, etna shows no sign of entering into a long repose period soon.
etna is europe's largest volcano (its volume is at least 350 cubic kilometers), and one of the most active (in the sense of "productive" and eruption frequency) volcanoes on earth, with frequent periods of intermittent to persistent activity in the summit area and major eruptions from eruptive centers on its flanks every 2-20 years.
the main feature of etnean activity is voluminous lava emission, but strong explosive activity occurs occasionally, mostly from its presently four summit craters.
the total number of eruptions is 209 eruptions (18 among them questionable) through late 1993 (volcanoes of the world). to these, there has now to be added the ongoing activity in etna's summit area initiated in the summer of 1995. etna lies in an area that is still not well understood from a geological standpoint.
while some scientists relate the etnean volcanism to subduction of the ionian oceanic seafloor beneath the calabrian arc (with volcanism on the aeolian islands as one consequence), others postulate a hot spot beneath etna, thus explaining its high lava production and fluid mafic magmas.
still another hypothesis sees etna in a complex rifting environment, and among the few things which are quite well understood is the fact that the volcano lies at the intersection of several major fault systems.
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