FAQ

Different phenomena make Etna dangerous:

During an eruption, smaller and larger lava lumps are spewed out. The smaller stones can fly several kilometres and injure or even kill people who are climbing Etna.

Escaping gas, such as sulphur dioxide or ammonia, can also be dangerous for people during an Etna hike.

The escaping lava flows are especially dangerous during lateral eruptions, because these take place at a lower altitude than eruptions of the summit craters. Etna’s lava flows relatively slowly, but if the eruption lasts long enough, the lava can reach inhabited areas. The last place to be completely destroyed was in 1928 – the small town of Mascali in the east of the volcano. In 1993, however, a lava flow reached the town of Zafferana Etnea, destroyed the first house and stopped in front of the second. The city was spared.

One of the most dangerous phenomena are pyroclastic flows. These are hot and extremely fast avalanches of gas and ash that can occur during the explosive phase of a volcanic eruption. Fortunately, they are very rare on Etna. Most recently, several pyroclastic flows occurred at Southeast Crater on 10.2.2022. The largest moved 1.6 kilometres south and south-east at an estimated speed of about 140 km/h, completely covering the northern of the Barbagallo craters (source: INGV – BOLLETTINO SETTIMANALE ETNA DEL 15/02/2022).

Magma is the molten material that lies beneath the earth’s surface. It consists not only of molten rock, but also of gases.

When the magma rises to the surface, it is called lava. If the magma is ejected very suddenly from the volcano, it solidifies very quickly in the much colder air. The gas does not have enough time to escape from the material and forms bubbles in the solidified lava. The result is a very light material called lapilli. When the magma slowly emerges from the volcano, the gas has enough time to escape until the lava solidifies. The rock that is created in this way is extremely hard.

Mount Etna is located on the eastern side of Sicily in the province of Catania, about halfway up between the city of Catania and the small town of Taormina. From both cities, Etna can be reached in about an hour.

Geologically, Mount Etna lies on the African Plate near the plate boundary with the European Plate, which is also the reason for the volcanism in the region.

Etna is about 570,000 years old and thus an extremely young volcano. On the contrary, the rest of Sicily is already over 5 million years old.

At the place where Mount Etna is today, there was previously a large bay. Volcanic activity began there about 570,000 years ago – due to the proximity to the plate boundary between the African and European plates.

The subsoil was made of relatively soft material and the earth’s crust here is probably very porous, like a sponge. This meant that thin-bodied magma could easily penetrate to the surface in many places. Many craters were formed with a low slope. The lava filled the bay over time, making it harder and harder for the magma to erupt, as the lava was much harder than the original bedrock.

As a result, the eruptions shifted more and more towards the centre directly above the underground magma chamber, as the pressure was highest there. In addition, the lava became denser and denser, forming steeper slopes. The initially flat shield volcano thus became a stratovolcano.

Etna’s eruptions are not regular and unpredictable. A distinction must be made between eruptions of the summit craters (Southeast Crater, Northeast Crater, Bocca Nuova and Vorragine) and lateral (side) eruptions.

In recent years, the south-eastern crater has been particularly active and is becoming increasingly explosive and dangerous:

• In 2021, the South East Crater erupted just under 60 times.
• In 2022, the first major eruption occurred on 10.2.2022, when the southeast crater was practically split and some pyroclastic flows were created. The second followed on 21.2.

Gas emissions and explosions, which can be heard all the way to the coast, are frequent on the summit craters.

The last lateral eruption started at Christmas in 2018: accompanied by some earthquakes and seismic swarms, two fissures opened on 24 December 2018, one from the base of the New Southeast Crater to the western edge of the Valle del Bove, the second, smaller, a little further north. The lava flows all poured into the Valle del Bove and did not come near inhabited areas. The eruption ended after only 3 days on 27.12.2018.

The duration of a lateral eruption can also vary greatly: from a few hours, to a few days or even years.

Alcantara is one of the many Arabic names we find in Sicily, such as the name of the town of Marsala or “Mongibello” (a mixture of Latin and Arabic), as the Sicilians also call Mount Etna. The reason for this is the Arab settlement in Sicily from the middle of the 9th century until the end of the 11th century.

Alcantara means bridge or bridge arch. The name refers to a bridge from Roman times near the mouth of the river, to which the Arabs subsequently gave the name “Alcantara”.

In the Alcantara Gorges, cool groundwater flows from crevices in the rock walls into the river. Therefore, its temperature is only around 10 to 12 degrees and is also fairly constant throughout the year.

If you want to swim in the Alcantara river, you have to be tough, because the Alcantara is – even in summer! – quite cool. After a hike on Etna, however, it can be very refreshing!

The water level can vary greatly, and the current must also be taken into account. So you can’t really swim in the Alcantara River, but you can take an (icy) dip.

But you can wade into the gorge with your trousers rolled up – and that’s what we’ll do on our Etna & Alcantara tour. It is best to take bathing shoes with you, so you can walk better on the stones in the riverbed.