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Monte
Ilice, the mountain of the holm oak (Quercus ilex), is a huge
pyroclastic cone sitting on a steep slope next to the village of Fleri,
about 3.5 km southwest of the town of Zafferana. This is probably the
second most recent of the cones on the lower southeast flank of Mount
Etna, formed by large eruption around A.D. 1050 - that is, in the "times
of darkness", the Middle Ages. A large lava flow that was emitted
from vents at the base of Monte Ilice and reached the Ionian Sea near
Stazzo, about 5 km north of Acireale, has previously been believed to
be the product of an eruption in 1329. However, reviews of historical
documents and palaeomagnetic studies undertaken by Tanguy et al. (1999,
2003) show that the 1329 eruption occurred at Monterosso,
about 2 km southeast of Monte Ilice, while the Monte Ilice eruption occurred
around 300 years earlier. The Monte Ilice eruption must have resembled
in many details that of the Monti Rossi near
Nicolosi (south flank) in 1669, although the latter was more voluminous
and did far more damage. Intense explosive activity built up the huge
cone of Monte Ilice, which rises 200 m above its southeast base, probably
causing heavy ash falls in a wide area around Etna, and a large lava flow
extended down to the coastline, 10 km to the east. This was one of only
three eruptions at Etna during the past 1000 years whose lava flows entered
the Ionian Sea. An enormous lava delta, 1.5 wide, was built out into the
sea between the present-day villages of Pozzillo and Santa Tecla; much
of this delta is now occupied by the village of Stazzo.
Monte Ilice is quite symmetrical in shape but the terrain upon which it
was built is irregular. It sits perched on a steep slope and thus its
relative height varies strongly, from more than 200 m above the southeast
base to only 50 m above the northwest base. It is truncated by a circular
crater about 280 m wide and up to 80 m deep. A short row of smaller craters,
largely hidden by dense vegetation, lies at the northwest base of Monte
Ilice and probably marks the upslope portion of an eruptive fissure active
during the Monte Ilice eruption. Earlier studies suggested that these
smaller vents were younger than Monte Ilice itself (actually, these were
believed to be the 1329 vents), but it seems now that both are of the
same Medieval age. A visit to Monte Ilice is worth the effort (access
is possible only via a small road that takes a long detour across dense
forest and whose entrance is very, very difficult to find) for the breathtaking
panoramic views that can be enjoyed from there.
I visited and climbed Monte Ilice for the first time in early March 1997
and visited it again in May and November of that year. Then, six years
passed until I returned with a group of German students in June 2003.
The photographs on this page were taken during these visits.
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Left:
group photograph of some of the pyroclastic cones surrounding the
village of Monterosso, early March 1997. Monte Ilice is the large
regular cone at left, in the center lies the small and very old
Monte Caterratte, followed further
to the right by Monterosso, the
youngest cone on Etna's lower southeast flank. This photo was taken
from the summit of Monte S. Nicolò,
2.7 km south of Monte Ilice
Center: Monte Ilice seen from south in early May 1997, showing vineyards
that cover this side of the cone
Right: a quite different perspective of Monte Ilice is seen from
about 1 km west, a terrain that lies at about the same altitude
(~900 m) as the summit of the cone. Photo taken in early May 1997 |
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Left:
a look into the largest of the smaller craters that lie along an
eruptive fissure immediately northwest of Monte Ilice (of which
part is visible in the background), mid-June 2003. Dense vegetation
covers this crater and renders its identification in this image
difficult
Center: unusually smooth surface of strongly altered and cemented
pyroclastic rocks that make up the upper south flank of Monte Ilice,
photographed in mid-June 2003
Right: view from the south rim of the crater of Monte Ilice toward
south, with the cones of Monte Gorna
(right),Monte S. Nicolò (center)
and Monte Serra (left distance) in
the background, mid-June 2003 |
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