MOUNT ETNA

TYPE OF VOLCANO

ERUPTIONS

• The geologic history of Mount Etna demonstrates that it has been periodically spewing ash and lava for thousands of years; the first recorded eruption of the volcano was in 475 BCE. It is the most active volcano in Europe. In 1169, an earthquake just prior to an eruption killed 15,000 people on Sicily.

ERUPTIONS

• Etna's most destructive eruption since 122 BC started on 11 March 1669 and produced lava flows that destroyed at least 10 villages on its southern flank before reaching the city walls of the town of Catania five weeks later, on 15 April.

TYPE OF ERUPTION

• Mount Etna consists of two edifices: an ancient shield volcano at its base, and the younger Mongibello stratovolcano, which was built on top of the shield. The basaltic shield volcano eruptions began about 500,000 years ago, while the stratovolcano began forming about 35,000 years ago from more trachytic lavas.

TYPE OF CONE

• Mount Etna is known as a composite volcano. Sometimes called Stratovolcanoes, Composite volcanoes form when runny lava escapes through a fissure and flows a long way. Composite volcanoes are tall, cone-shaped mountains that are typically steeply-sided, symmetrical cones of large dimensions.

PATRICIO'S