Week 4 Volcanos: James Cebry

 The week I will be writing about Mount Etna which is also my final project topic.  Mount Etna is located in Sicily.  It is the tallest Volcano in Europe and one of the most active volcanos in the world.  It is constantly erupting and has been in a very active cycle since 2001.  When I lived in Sicily, I watched Mount Etna erupt several times with lava flows.  Normally the top of the mountain just smokes and lets out ash but sometimes it will have lava flows.  One night my family saw lava shooting out of the top going 10s to 100s of feet in the air.  Mount Etna will also shoot out large lava rocks near the tap and small rocks as far as hundreds of miles away.  Some days the Catania airport would have to be shutdown due to ash and small lava rocks.

Mount Enta Erupting, throwing ash and rock into the air

                                           from: www.scitechdaily.com

  Mount Etna is associated with a subduction of the African plate under the Eurasian plate.   It is also part of a different volcanic arc and scientists are still debating different theories to explain why Etna is where it is.  Some think that it could be a hot stop, a rifting process, or a structural break in the crust.  There are some other volcanos in the area that include Stromboli, Panarea, and Vulcano. 

There are many hazards that can come from this volcano.  Some villages have been covered in lava and buried.  Mount Etna has shot large rocks into the air that has destroyed cars and other property.  In 1992 the United States Marines with the Italians blasted a hole in the side of the mountain to try and control the lava flow away from the city of Catania.  This worked for a little while but was ultimately unsuccessful.  The volcanic ash and lava rocks have made the area around the base of Mount Etna very fertile.  Sicily has large grape vineyards, Orange groves, and pistachio fields.  They also grow some of the best tomatoes I have ever eaten.  There are many olive trees which produce very good olive oil.

   

Mount Etna lava flows.

                                         from www.dw.com

 

References

https://geology.com/volcanoes/etna/

https://www.dw.com/en/italys-etna-volcano-erupts-on-sicily-disrupting-flights/a-49668193

https://scitechdaily.com/italian-volcano-etna-has-its-third-eruption-of-2012/