This report contains few photographs taken from press and other internet sources at the time of the eruptions from 1989 up to 2006.

The impressive mountain volcano eruption of 1989 at etna’s Southeast Crater, with violent eruptive episodes characterized by spectacular lava fountains from the crater and from fissures. A new eruptive fissure opened in the Valle del Leone emitting a lava flow, and lava fountaining. It changed to continuous ash emission with some Strombolian activity.

 

 

In 1992,as we can see from theses pictures of mount etna, a massive eruption was underway in the Valle del Bove with countless active lava flow lobes moving on a huge lava field. One month later the eruption began to threaten the village of Zafferana Etnea, and  dramatic efforts were made to keep the lava from eating its way all through the village.


In 1995 occurred the reawakening of etna following more than two years of eruptive repose.  The first crater to show magmatic activity was the Bocca Nuova . As a matter of fact, 1995 marked the beginning of six years of intense summit eruptions as we can see in mt etna pictures below.

 

 

1996 was the year of the Northeast Crater as can be noticed by the following photos etna. Between January and mid-August, the crater was the site of  long-lived Strombolian activity accompanied by spectacular effusive eruptions.


Harmless but spectacular: in 1997 the Southeast Crater displays continuous mild Strombolian activity accompanied by slow lava effusion. This movement occurs at a small cone growing on the crater floor. These eruptive events continue through mid-1998 and then are followed by much more violent ones as it may be seen in following mount etna images.


During 2001, most activity had occurred at the Southeast Crater , starting with very slow lava extrusion. The lava emission rate increased and was followed by an episode of vigorous Strombolian activity and lava fountaining . Then the activity returned to lower levels, but  the SE Crater was the site of a very mild, discontinuous Strombolian explosions and vigorous lava emission from the summit vent.


The 2003 eruption was more violent and more devastating than the previous flank one in  2001. It occurred from fissures on two sides of the volcano. After its extremely vigorous start, the eruption showed a declining trend and then continued in a more or less stable manner . The eruption ended  on late 2003.


In 2004-05, a fracture swarm, associated with  effusive vents, propagated downslope from the SE summit crater towards SE. Nevertheless, some unusual features of this eruption suggest a more complex triggering mechanism. These are: the absence of precursory phenomena; a slower propagation of fractures; the lack of explosive activity, degassing and any eruption-related sismicity and a significant oblique shear along the fractures.


On 14 July 2006, a fissure opened on the east flank of the South-East crater summit cone of Mt. Etna. Two vents along the fissure produced a lava flow spreading east to the Valle del Bove. Moderate strombolian activity from a third upper vent produced a little ash fallout on Catania during the opening phase of the eruptive fissure. The eruption  finished on 24 July.

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