Volcanic Activity Reports on Mount Etna, Sicily for the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Nation Museum of Natural History

Taken from the Introduction to Etna: Volcanic Activity Reports provided by the Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History ['rathbun.si.edu/gvp/world/region01/italy/etna/var.htm'] Mount Etna, towering above Catania, Sicily's second largest city, has one of the world's longest documented records of historical volcanism. Historical lava flows cover much of the surface of this massive basaltic stratovolcano, Italy's highest and most voluminous volcano.

The Mongibello stratovolcano, truncated by several small calderas, was constructed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene over an older shield volcano. The most prominent morphological feature of Etna is the Valle del Bove, a 5 x 10 km horseshoe-shaped caldera open to the east. Two styles of eruptive activity typically occur at Etna.