The activity of Etna during the past few thousand years has been characterized by lava emission and Strombolian activity, punctuated at times by more explosive episodes from the summit craters. 

 

The height of mt Etna italy volcano, the most active volcano in sicily, is about 3310 m. It lies in a structurally highly complex, and not yet fully understood, setting.  The reason for this complexity is that Etna grow as a succession of volcanic edifices whose centers shifted from one place to another. The tectonic environment of the sicily volcano was further complicated by the voluminous Etnean edifice, by the load of the volcano and by the movement of magma below and within it.

 

Activity in area of the sicilian volcano began about 0.5 million years ago with the emission of tholeitic magmas in a submarine environment. This early phase of volcanic activity is  named "Pre-Etnean". The second phase of volcanism at Etna, called "Ancient Etna", began with more localized eruptions. The third phase of Etnean volcanism is named "Trifoglietto II" and was characterized by the building of several overlapping stratovolcanoes leading to a much more explosive volcanism. The fourth phase saw the growth of the Mongibello stratovolcano.  After this period of trachytic magmatism, the activity became predominantly effusive.

 

Among the most remarkable news etna  is the capability of the volcano to erupt from many places from its flanks, while activity in the summit area is essentially concentrated at the four summit craters, which remain in stable positions since decades and are frequently active.
Summit activity occurs at four craters: the Voragine and the Bocca Nuova, which lie in the area of the former Central Crater, and the Northeast (NE) and Southeast (SE) Craters.


Vigorous mt. etna eruptions in the 1950's and early 1960's built large cones in the central and southern parts of the summit crater platform while the Voragine collapse pit in the NE part of the crater gradually enlarged. Both the NE and the SE Craters started as collapse pits on the flanks of the main summit cone. The most significant events during the brief history of the SE Crater were the episodes of vigorous lava fountaining culminating in one of the most violent eruptions of Etna.


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