Lying near the extreme western margin of Mount Etna, Monte Barca sits perched on the steep eastern slope of the Simeto valley and is one of the most remote of Etna's flank cones. Its name stems from the shape of the cone, resembling a boat when seen from above (background). This crater is of unknown age but has a relatively youthful morphology. View is to the east with the main edifice of Etna and some of its flank cones in the background, taken in mid-September 2000

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Barca
W flank, 14.82042° E, 37.76991° N
Summit elevation: 756 m (S rim of crater)

Together with the larger and better known Monte Moio, on Etna's lower north flank, Monte Barca is one of the most remote of the numerous flank cones of the volcano, lying 15.4 km to the west of the summit of the volcano. The name (roughly translated into "the boat mountain") is due to the peculiar shape of the cone when seen either from the east or from the west, which truly resembles a simple boat. This cone lies perched on the upper crest of a steep slope bounding the Simeto valley to the west, amidst fruit gardens, and itself is extensively used for agriculture.
The age of Monte Barca is probably Holocene, but has not been constrained by any dating effort so far. What is certain is that the pyroclastic deposits making up its cone show an unusual degree of alteration, which may be due to protracted fumarolic activity; alternatively this might be evidence that the eruption of Monte Barca had a strong phreatomagmatic component. The crater is 0.34 x 0.25 km wide and forms a simple saucer-shaped depression with low rims on the eastern side and, more strongly expressed, on the western side. A very small, strongly vegetated lava flow only about 1.2 km long and extending westward from the base of Monte Barca is shown on the Geological Map of Mount Etna and may be associated with the eruption that formed the cone.
I first visited Monte Barca in December 1998 but obtained a good photographic documentation only in June 2003, when most of the photographs displayed on this page were taken.

Monte Barca seen from different directions. Left photograph is a view from northeast, with the cemetery of the nearby town of Bronte in the foreground. In the center Monte Barca is seen from SSE, showing the high south rim of the crater on the near side. Right photograph shows Monte Barca in right foreground and the main edifice of Etna in the background. Photographs were taken in March 1998 (left), April 1999 (center) and September 2000 (right)

Left: view from the northeastern rim of the crater of Monte Barca across the crater floor and the Simeto valley and the Monti Nebrodi in the background Center: fruit gardens on the northern crater rim of Monte Barca Right: outcrop of pyroclastic deposits on the eastern crater rim of Monte Barca, showing strong fumarolic alteration. Photos were taken in April 1999

The crater of Monte Barca seen from different directions in June 2003. At left, the view is toward north from the south crater rim; the double-peaked feature in the background is not another of Etna's flank cones, but marks an outcrop of pre-Etnean marine sediments, at an altitude of about 800 m above sea level. Center image shows view in nearly opposite direction, with high south rim of the crater in the background. The photograph at right is a view from the southeast crater rim toward west. Terraces in the crater walls bear testimony of intense gardening in the past, but much of this has been apparently abandoned

Wherever there are outcrops of the pyroclastic deposits produced by the Monte Barca eruption, these show very high degrees of alteration. Some of this might be due to post-eruption fumarolic activity, but the fact that alteration is ubiquitous might indicate that the eruption of this cone was mainly phreatomagmatic. Photos were taken on the southeastern, southern and eastern crater rims in June 2003

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Copyright © Boris Behncke, "Italy's Volcanoes: The Cradle of Volcanology"