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Table of Contents
Mount Etna is known as the highest and most active volcano in Europe. It is located in the Mediterranean region on the island of Sicily, Italy.
See the fact file below for more information on Mount Etna or alternatively, you can download our 28-page Mount Etna worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.
Key Facts & Information
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY and FOLKLORE
- Mount Etna is Europe‘s tallest volcano and is regarded as one of the world’s most active stratovolcanoes. It has a height of approximately 3,327 meters and an average basal diameter of 40 kilometers, providing a panoramic view of the entire region.
- Many researchers and tourists around the world take an interest in visiting the volcano because of its phenomenal lava flows.
- The geological features of Etna suggest that it has been active since the end of the Neogene Period, for about 2.6 million years.
- The volcano has multiple active centers. Moreover, in lateral fissures extending out from the center and down the sides, a number of subsidiary cones have formed.
- The mountain’s current structure is the result of at least two major eruptive centers.
- Mount Etna’s first volcanic activity occurred around 500,000 years ago, with eruptions beneath the sea of Sicily’s ancient coastline.
- Volcanism began around 300,000 years ago to the southwest of the summit (top of the volcano), then moved to the current center 170,000 years ago.
- At this time, alternating explosive and effusive eruptions formed the first major volcanic edifice, shaping a stratovolcano. The mountain’s growth was disrupted every once in a while by major eruptions, causing the summit to collapse and form calderas.
- Legend has it that there is an entrance to the reign of the dead just below Etna. Saint Agatha, Catania’s patron saint, had to intervene after her death to calm the volcano.
- It is said that during the 252 BC eruption, the population that had rigorously protected her veil after her martyrdom took her veil and placed it at the city gates to protect it.
- Although the eruption had ended, the veil turned red. As a result, devotees continue to invoke the Saint’s name for protection from fire and lightning.
- According to Greek and Roman mythology, Vulcan (Greek: Hephaestus), the god of fire and craftsmen, had his blacksmithing forge under Mount Etna, which explains why the volcano is actively producing lava.
- It is also said that Zeus, the thunder god, and the gods of gods trapped the deadly monster Typhon inside the volcano.
- In Greek and Roman mythology, Etna was thought to be a very beautiful goddess and the daughter of the goddess Gaia. In Greek mythology, the Earth, the mother of all gods, the first material entity in creation.
- Gaia created Uranus (the sky), a living being similar to herself, to protect and cover her. The god of winds, Eolo, is said to have encased all of the world’s winds beneath the Etna caverns. These winds were thought to cause earthquakes and landslides.
- According to the poet Eschilo, the terrible giant Tifone, son of the goddess Gaia and the god of the afterlife (Tartaro), attempted to dethrone Zeus, who defeated him by throwing Mount Etna at him. Mount Etna continues to erupt as a result of Zeus’ lightning bolts.
LOCATION
- Mount Etna, also known as Mongibello, is an active stratovolcano found on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, between the cities of Messina and Catania.
- It is situated just above the plate convergent margin of the African and Eurasian plates. With a current height of 3,357 m or 11,014 ft as of July 2021, it is one of Europe’s tallest active volcanoes and Italy’s tallest peak south of the Alps, though this varies depending on summit eruptions.
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
- Diodorus Siculus was the first person to record an eruption on Mount Etna. In 396 BC, an eruption of Etna reportedly thwarted the Carthaginians’ attempt to advance on Syracuse during the Second Sicilian War.
- A particularly violent explosive (Plinian) summit eruption occurred in 122 BC, resulting in heavy tephra falls to the southeast, including Catania, where many roofs collapsed.
- To aid the reconstruction following the devastating effects of the eruption, the Roman government exempted the citizens of Catania from paying taxes for 10 years.
- The most powerful recorded eruption of Etna occurred in 1669, when eruptions damaged a portion of the summit and lava flows from a fissure on the volcano’s flank reached the sea and the nearby town of Catania. This eruption was also notable for being one of the first attempts to control lava flow.
- In modern history, a large lava flow from an eruption in 1928 destroyed a populated center for the first time since the 1669 eruption.
- On November 2, the eruption began high on Etna’s northeast flank. Then, as the volcano’s flank elevation decreased, new eruptive fissures appeared.
- The third and most violent of these fissures erupted late on November 4 in a zone known as the Ripe della Naca, at an unusually low elevation of around 1,200 meters, or 3,937 feet above sea level.
TOURISM AND AGRICULTURE
- With thousands of visitors each year, Mount Etna is one of Sicily’s most popular tourist destinations. The most common route to the mountain is via the road leading to the Sapienza Refuge ski area, which is located 1,910 meters south of the crater. The Refuge has a cableway that runs uphill to an elevation of 2,500 meters, from which the crater area at 2,920 meters is accessible.
- Mount Etna dominates the skyline of Sicily like a massive cloud of earth, thus, many experts believe that this active volcano covers over 450 square miles.
- Interestingly, more than a quarter of the Sicily population lives on Mount Etna’s slopes, which means that the surrounding towns seldom benefit from the influx of tourists. Meanwhile, previous eruptions have left behind some particularly fertile land, which local farmers undoubtedly exploit.
- The rich and fertile soils due to Mount Etna’s volcanic eruptions from the past to the present have supported Sicily’s wide-ranging agriculture, with vineyards and orchards dispersed across the lower slopes of the volcano as well as the broad Plain of Catania to the south.
- Mount Etna has been categorized as a Decade Volcano by the United Nations due to its recent activity and proximity to the population. Thus, it was also inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June 2013.
Mount Etna Worksheets
This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about Mount Etna across 28 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use worksheets that are perfect for teaching about Mount Etna which is a way of showing an apology when we have done something wrong.
Complete List of Included Worksheets
Below is a list of all the worksheets included in this document.
- Mt. Etna Facts
- Inside Mt. Etna
- Volcanoes
- Mapping Mt. Etna
- Fauna and Flora
- Volcanic Benefits
- Volcano Alert!
- Set your Priorities!
- Mt. Etna in Poetry
- Promoting Mt. Etna
- Our Volcano
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is special about Mount Etna?
Mount Etna, apart from being Europe’s tallest volcano is also regarded as the world’s most active one. Its features suggest that it has been active for about 2.6 million years and has multiple active centers.
Q: What are the myths surrounding Mount Etna?
In Greek and Roman mythology it is said that Hephestus the god of fire and craftsmen had his blacksmithing forge under Mount Etna. Another myth says Zeus trapped Typhon in it. Due to it existing for many millennia, there are more of these myths scattered throughout history.
Q: Can you live on Mount Etna?
Mount Etna gets thousands of visitors each year and is Sicily’s most famous tourist spot. Despite it being a very active and very large volcano, more than a quarter of the Sicily population lives on Mount Etna’s slopes. Previous eruptions have made it a most fertile land supporting a wide range of agriculture.
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Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.