Friday 19 October 2012

MT ETNA, SICILY

Mount Etna, is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to 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 standing 3,329 m high, though this varies with summit eruptions.

It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 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 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 god of gods and creator of mankind, 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.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.









9 comments:

  1. Great tour!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, a great tour indeed, Nick! And I do love the history and background that you've included! I've known about Mt. Etna, of course, but your details covered some things I didn't know! Thanks!! Always like to learn something new! Enjoy your weekend!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What amazing views of Etna and surrounding area. Thanks for the mini history lesson to go along with your photos! My blog

    ReplyDelete
  4. What gorgeous shots!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The legendary Mt. Etna so wonderfully captured and narrated! Thank you:)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, cool shots of the Volcano. Beautiful views, great shots!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Beautiful shots! Happy sky watching.

    Skywatch

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a fabulous introduction to Mt. Etna you have given me. Such beauty. Some of your pictures remind me of Arenal in Costa Rica. It startled rattling and rumbling while we were climbing to the final observation point and got out so quickly we left our wonderful binoculars on a rock. genie

    ReplyDelete

I love to hear from you, so please comment. I appreciate constructive criticism as it improves my skills as an amateur photographer.