Located on the east coast of Sicily (Italy), we find one of the best known volcanoes on the Old Continent: Etna. It erupts every little time, sometimes every year. The last time he did it was this past Monday night.
The show can be seen from the city of Catania, located a few kilometers from the volcano. At the moment, it does not pose any danger to people or to their homes.
Etna volcano eruption
On February 27, 2017, Etna increased its volcanic activity, and towards the end of the day it erupted, expelling ash from the crater on the northeast flank, as reported by the Nunziata di Mascali Meteorological Observatory, which has begun to produce a dense cloud.
There is currently a Skyline webcam that is recording it live. You can see it doing click here (You need to have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player installed).
History of the volcano
Etna volcano, the most active in Europe, has an altitude of 3330 meters above sea level and began its activity approximately half a million years ago, with eruptions under the sea surface, on the coast of what is today Sicily. Volcanic activity above the sea surface began 300.000 years ago, and little by little the eruptions built it up to the shape it has today.
The activity of the volcano is never the same. Sometimes the eruptions occur on the summit and sometimes on the flanks. The former are the most explosive, but they rarely pose a danger; on the other hand, the latter can occur even at a few hundred meters of altitude, or near populated areas. Since 1600 AD. C., there have been 60 lateral and countless eruptions on the summit.
Etna volcano has created an impressive spectacle, don't you think?