As we can see in the map below Mount Etna is located on the east coast of the island of Sicily in Italy between the cities of Catania and Messina. It is known by the local people as Mongibello and it is an active stratovolcano made up of alternate layers of lava and ash. Mount Etna is Europe’s most active volcano and it is one of the world’s largest volcanoes standing about 3,300 m tall. 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. Most of the surface of Mount Etna is covered by historic lava flows dating to eruptions as old as 300,000 years.

It is estimated that nearly 25% of Sicily’s population live on the slopes of Mt Etna, due to it being a main source of income with agriculture and tourism. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards, citrus fruit and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Etna is also one of Sicily’s main tourist attractions, with thousands of visitors every year.

The map below shows that the central Mediterranean lies between two continental plates, the Eurasian and the African plate. Mt Etna is on a destructive plate margin, where the denser African plate is subducted under the lighter Eurasian plate, forming a subduction zone. The increase in pressure, caused by the Eurasian plate forced downwards, can trigger also severe earthquakes in Sicily such as the 1908 earthquake which killed more than 100,000 people. As the Eurasian plate continues to descend it melts as it re-enters the mantle, forming magma. This magma being lighter than the surrounding mantle rises to the surface to form volcanoes. This is the main reason why Mount Etna erupts frequently.

The diagram below shows how the African Plate is moving downwards beneath the Eurasian plate at a subduction plate margin. As this happens crustal rocks are heated and turn to magma which rises to the surface.

Two types of activity are typical of Mount Etna. Persistent violent explosive eruptions sometimes with minor lava flows which extend a few kilometres from one or more of its five main summit craters and flank eruptions consisting mainly of voluminous lava flows that originate from fissures that open on the volcanoes flanks. Mount Etna has more than 300 side vents from where lava can be released. Some of these have grown to form secondary cones. Etna has also produced pyroclastic flows, ash falls, and mudflows, but the lava flows are the most immediately hazardous type of activity, especially to the city of Catania. The lava flows themselves usually do not move fast enough to threaten humans, they can cover large areas and destroy crops and buildings.

The following video clip illustrates the power of Mount Etna causing devastating damage to the region.

Etna’s most powerful recorded eruption was in 1669, when explosions destroyed part of the summit and lava flows from a fissure on the volcano’s flank reached the sea and the town of Catania, destroying at least 10 villages.

More recently during the eruption of 1971 eruption, the lava flow destroyed the ski slopes, cable car stations and the vulcanological observatory near the summit. In 1983 the large volumes of lava gushed through one of the side vents engulfing a hotel, 3 hotels, 25 houses and ruined huge areas of productive agricultural lands. In 1991, Etna erupted again sending lava towards the town of Zafferana, located 9 km downslope of the active vents. Workers began constructing huge barrier walls about 2 km above the town. However the lava managed to overtop these earth barriers and the lava continued to threaten the town of Zafferana and as a result the population prepared for evacuation. Other barriers were built but these too were overtopped. Explosives were then used and finally manged to open up a new channel and redirect the slow moving lava away from the village.

On 26 October 2002 following a period of seismic activity, a new eruption with lava flowing from two side vents of the volcano began on Mount Etna. This eruption lasted for more than three months till 28 January 2003. The satellite image below taken by astronauts on board the International Space Station on October 30, 2002 shows a dark plume rising from the top of the volcano is an ash cloud. The broad white cloud streaming from areas of lower elevation is smoke produced by forest fires ignited as a hot lava flow moved through a pine forest. The ash and smoke caused air traffic to be diverted and forced the closing of roads, schools and businesses. The ash plume was carried by the wind as far away as Libya, 600 kilometres away.

During the eruption of 2002 which was accompanied by earthquakes, thick lava was released and moved down the mountainside forming two rivers of lava. Vast columns of smoke and steam were also emitted. The drawing below shows (in orange) these two lava flows threatening the towns of Nicolosi and Linguaglossa.

The video below illustrates the damage caused by the 2002 eruption.

Effects of the 2002 Eruption

• A series of earthquakes measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale were registered. Small hillside villages such as Santa Venerina and Linguaglossa were destroyed by the tremors.
• The ski resort and tourist complex of Piano Provenzana north of Linguaglossa was engulfed and destroyed by the lava flow. The skiing season was about to start but the whole area was covered by the flowing lava.
• Ash fell on the nearby villages and the city of Catania and roads were covered by several centimetres of ash creating traffic problems.
• Catania airport was closed for 4 days as ash was covering the runway and threatened to clog aircraft engines.
• Large areas of good agricultural land producing vines, olives, oranges, lemons and fruit were all covered with a thick layer of ash.
• Hundreds of hectares of forest on the slopes of the volcano including a pine forest near Linguaglossa were destroyed by the fires started by the lava and hot ash. It took days for firefighters to put off the fires.
• No deaths or serious injuries were reported but hundreds of families were evacuated due to the threat of lava flow

The Italian government declared a state of emergency in parts of Sicily and holiday homes were taken over by local authorities to house the displaced people. Emergency workers dug channels to divert the lava that was threatening to engulf a volcanic monitoring station and the village of Linguaglossa.

With the help of the images below describe how the 2002 eruption of Mount Etna affected settlements, communications and human activities.

Imagine that you are a journalist writing for local newspaper. News has just broken about a massive eruption by volcano Etna. The editor has charged you with writing a main front page article about this volcano for the newspaper.

a. Use websites in order to find the necessary information. In the article include:

i. an eye-catching title,
ii. a map of the central Mediterranean showing the location of Etna and the cities of Catania and Messina.
iii. why does Mount Etna erupt so frequently,
iv. what usually happens during a volcanic eruption,
v. information about past eruptions of Etna,
vi. the dangers caused by these past eruptions,
vii. the beneficial effects of the volcano for the local people.