Mount
Etna erupting recently, seen from the
harbour in Catania.
Mount Etna is Europe's
most active volcano and regularly erupts, most recently in May of
this year. At 3,346 metres above sea level it is also the highest
mountain on Sicily, and the summit is snow capped for much of the
year,
indeed it is a popular ski resort during the winter months despite
being highly active. The volcano
was formed when the Eurasian and
African tectonic plates collided and the African plate was sub
ducted beneath the Eurasian plate
-
BELOW RIGHT . The friction
causes immense heating of the rock some of which re-emerges
periodically as lava and ash through a fault beneath Etna. The most
recent eruption just four weeks before our visit in June 2013, was
minor in comparison to some of the eruptions in recent history
though it was still very spectacular. To view a short video of the
most recent eruption (at the time of this report) please
click on the movie link above.
Nowadays with
vulcanologists monitoring seismic activity, swelling of the
cone, gas emissions etc. forecasting imminent eruptions
is quite precise and the people who live close to the volcano
have little fear of being caught by surprise. It was not
always so however. As recently as 1669 a huge eruption, which
continued uninterrupted for 4 months, sent enormous lava flows
down the flank. When molten lava begins to cool it forms a
surface skin which effectively insulates the flow and prevents
further cooling. The skin continues to form along the length
of the flow and before too long the stream is channelled
beneath the surface in a tunnel known as a lava tube. With the
flow isolated from the cooling effect of the air it stays
incredibly hot and fluid and flows far further than it would
if it had remained on the surface - indeed a flow running
inside a lava tube will only be about 50 degrees cooler when
it emerges several miles from the point of eruption.
With the inevitable creation of lava tubes by the flow in the
1669 eruption, it reached and engulfed Catania over 17 miles
away to the southeast causing massive destruction and
catastrophic loss of life with as many as 20, 000 dead and
massive and many thousands more made homeless.
As you drive away from the
volcano today you pass a quarry located well within the city where the old
lava flows are being excavated for re-use as building materials. The
first recorded eruption of the volcano was in 475 BC and in 1169AD, a
major earthquake just prior to an eruption killed some 15,000 people on
the island. With the risk to life and
livelihood from lava flows there have been many attempts by mankind to
halt or divert flows away from areas of population. During the 1169 eruption the mountain
initially began to rumble and
emit vast clouds of gas but the locals chose to ignore the warning signs.
Lava flows down the
flanks of Etna in May 2013.
Within three days
choking clouds of poisonous fumes enveloped the flank rapidly
asphyxiating some 3,000 people living on the lower slopes and lava
began to pour down the south side of the mountain towards the city.
Diego de Pappalardo gathered a team of 50 men and they attempted to
divert the lava flow with long iron rods and picks and shovels,
wearing cowhides soaked in water for protection against the searing
1000 degree Celsius heat. At enormous risk to themselves they
managed to hack a hole in the lava tube and the flow re-emerged and
began to head west away from the city.
But things then began to
assume an air of the farcical, for the flow now diverted away from
Catania was heading instead straight for Paterno, a city to the
southwest of Etna, and the residents there began a pitch battle with
the Catanian lava squad whilst the breach filled and the flow
resumed its original course! To this day legislation created in the
aftermath of this epic tussle on the slopes of Mount Etna states
that the direction of a lava flow cannot be interfered with unless
sanctioned by the highest authority, though in recent times, with
the help of explosives and modern excavating equipment, flows are
regularly channelled away from areas of habitation around the base
of the volcano, with relative ease and far less risk for the workers
undertaking the gargantuan task.
Following an eruption
the barren, sterile land has more in common with a Luna landscape
than any place on earth. But the ash fields and even the lava flows
themselves eventually succumb to the forces of nature and in time
the soil becomes incredibly fertile. This factor combined with the
year round sunshine of the Sicilian climate means that two and even
three crops a year are possible with relative ease. Naturally then
this land is highly prized and that accounts for why people are
prepared to take the risk of living on the slopes of an active
volcano. But the inevitable happens all too often and there are
buildings buried and cremated by lava flows almost all the way up
the SP92 on the way to Rifugio Sapienza a few hundred metres below
the crater. The first of these buildings is literally only a quarter
of a mile out of the last village on the road, Nicolosi.
Below is a selection of the
photographs we took during our trip up Mount Etna in June, 2013.
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view any of the photographs in a far bigger size then click on the
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On the way up the long
and winding road to the cable car station just below the summit of
Etna.
The first of several
houses destroyed by lava just a few hundred yards out of the last
village on the way up.
The road
actually cuts through the lava flows in places.
Here's TJ in
our hire car!
Looking back down the
mountain towards Catania. Mid shot you can see three of at least
sixteen secondary eruption cones which we counted. There are
actually many more.
Solidified
lava at the side of the road.
The Valle
del Bove is where the where the lava was diverted to by explosives
and excavation during the 1992/3 eruption.
10 metres of lava on your
roof - not a nice thought!
The active cone area is
still a long way up yet.
You'd think
they'd learn wouldn't you!
We stopped
to explore this old church.
Surprisingly the lava
appears to have flowed around the building enveloping it rather than
crushing it.
The little
church did not fair well.
Anything
inside the building was incinerated.
Onwards and we soon
reach another home with a towering precipice of solidified
lava hard up against the back wall.
On the cable
car now - beneath us is snow.
We are only
a few hundred metres below the crater rims here.
TJ on a
volcano!
Ladybirds
- dozens of 'em everywhere!!!
The snow is insulated
from the sun by layers of ash and stays all year round despite the
air temperature which was in the low 50s Fahrenheit.
Been there!
On the way
down we stopped to explore this old church.
The church
is built with excavated lava rock from the mountain.
Not a lot
left now but the damage is mainly from the fires.
A shrine to
the Virgin Mary. She didn't help them much.
Again it's
fire damage rather than destruction.
The lava
flow passed this building by with only a few metres to spare.
There was no
trace of the toilets!
Stair porn
Etna style...
...and
here's some more!
It's possible the roof
collapsed from the weight of ash and pumice falling on top but it is
far more likely that the roof timbers simply burnt out and the tiles
have been salvaged.
The concrete
floors have easily survived.
The well.
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The well
still contains fresh water.
A last look
at the remains of the church before we leave.