Clad with dense forest, the large prehistoric cone of Monte Rosso on Etna's west flank reveals little of its volcanic nature, except for the irregular outline of its summit crater that is open toward west. Several smaller knobs lying on the lower west (foreground left) flank of the cone may be actually smaller cones built on the same eruptive fissure on which Monte Rosso was built. The small horseshoe-shaped cone of Monte Mezzaluna, possibly formed in 1763, is seen at the north (left) base of Monte Rosso, and Etna's main edifice, partly hidden by clouds, lies in the background. Photograph taken from the summit of Monte Di Fiore I (1974 eruption) in early July 1999

Mamma Etna's countless children
Monte Rosso
W flank, 14.93674° E, 37.74428° N
Summit elevation: 1878 m (SE crater rim)

"Monte Rosso" is a name that has been applied to several of Etna's flank cones (in the case of the spectacular cone formed in 1669 near Nicolosi, on the southern flank of the volcano, we also find the plural form, "Monti Rossi"). Who understands Italian knows that this means "red mountain" (or "red mountains", in the case of the Monti Rossi), but actually "rosso" is a corruption of the word "grosso", which means big. Monte Grosso is thus the BIG mountain, and in the case of the Monte Rosso on the western flank of Etna this is truly justified. This cone rises more than 150 m above its western base and stands still 80 m above the SE base, which lies in a saddle separating Monte Rosso from another large cone, Monte Capre.
Monte Rosso is fairly densely vegetated but maintains a relatively youthful shape. Its crater is horseshoe-shaped and open to the west, its rim being highest on its southeastern side, which gives a strongly asymmetrical shape to the cone. A lower hill lies at the lower end of the crater, marking the site of the main effusive vent of the eruption that produced Monte Rosso - a constitution seen at many of Etna's flank cones including those formed during recent eruptions.
Although I climbed nearby Monte Mezzaluna already in April 1997, my first visit to the summit of Monte Rosso was only in September 2003, involving a strenuous climb up the steep and poorly vegetated northeastern side of the cone (the sparse vegetation in this area might be a consequence of the Monte Mezzaluna eruption which probably occurred only a few hundred years ago - possibly in 1763).

Members of an excursion group from the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) are struggling their way up the painfully steep slope of Monte Rosso, September 2003. The northeastern flank of the cone bears much less vegetation than all other areas on the cone, which is possibly an effect of the eruption of nearby Monte Mezzaluna a few centuries ago. This allows spectacular panoramic views of the surrounding landscape, whereas on the other sides of the cone views are partially obstructed by the dense forest

Continue to Monte Capre

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