Summary of all Mount Etna eruptions that took place on May 2021. Etna gives a show with nights of intense volcanic activity, alternating Strombolian activity and lava fountains with small emissions of lava flows. Several paroxysms, of spectacular magnitude, have affected the South-East crater from which a lava flow has also emerged. The new eruptive phase of Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, was of particular beauty, setting the nights on fire with magnificent lava fountains, a phenomenon visible from several kilometers away.


Mount Etna eruptions May 2021

Mount Etna, fiery nights

These new eruptions are constantly monitored by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania. The various paroxysmal phases, which began with Strombolian activity (explosions and the emission of shreds of lava and ash) began from the South-East crater.

Strombolian Eruption

Strombolian eruptions are named from the small volcano-island of Stromboli, located between Sicily and Italy. This volcano has been erupting almost constantly for hundreds of years. It erupts irregularly every twenty minutes or so to produce an episodic lightshow that gives rise to its nickname, the “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean

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Summary of all Mount Etna eruptions that took place on February 2021. Eruptions distinguished by violent explosions of Strombolian type. Strombolian eruptions involve moderate bursts of expanding gases that eject clots of incandescent lava in cyclical or nearly continuous small eruptions. After that, one of these explosion caused the subsidence of a small portion of the south-east crater. The rockfall raised a large cloud of gas and pyroclastic material that rapidly reached Catania and the nearby towns.

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New Strombolian eruption on Mount Etna that occurred during the night of 13 December 2020. A new eruption from the South East crater began on the volcano. The lava flow during the night was visible from a great distance, amid particularly strong volcanic rumbles and tremors. Following are the latest details collected by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Etneo Observatory. Known in acronym as INGV, it is the Italian research institute responsible for the study of geophysical and volcanological phenomena and the management of the respective national monitoring networks for seismic and volcanic phenomena.

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Welcome to the largest active volcano in Europe: Mount Etna.

Birth and development of a wonder of the world

Symbol of the island that has always marked and still marks the life of the inhabitants of Etna. The Sicilian territory is characterized by its presence and its majesty. In what is now the surroundings of the city of Catania and which was once a gulf, Etna was born from underwater eruptions, about 500,000 years ago. Etna (also called “Mungibeddu” or “à Muntagna”, in Sicilian language) is the highest volcano in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013.

The altitude of Etna reaches today about 3,330 m.a.s.l, its diameter is approximately 45 km and occupies an area of ​​1,570 square kilometers. The volcanic soil has unique characteristics in the world in that around the craters, lava flows are noticeable: black if they are recent, gray when instead they date back to more distant times. The incessant activity of the volcano is testified by the aforementioned flows, occasionally interrupted by some newly built road. A multitude of eruptions occurred in ancient times but it was in 1669 that the most devastating eruption took place. A river of lava reached the sea, partly devastating the city of Catania.

Eruptions in recent times

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