Giuseppe ("Pippo") Scarpinati (left) and Salvatore ("Turi") Ragonese (mountain guide on Etna's N flank) on the E rim of the Voragine, with the NE Crater emitting brown ash in the background on 23 August 2000. Scarpinati holds a long bomb ejected from the SE Crater during the spring of 2000

A view down the so-called Northeast Rift of Etna towards N, showing some landmarks on the NNE flank of the volcano (click on image to see large version with explanations). The Northeast Rift is an area where eruptive fissures, craters and cones from flank eruptions are densely concentrated, creating a morphological ridge (at left). In spite of this unusual accumulation of eruptive vents, flank eruptions do not take place in this area more frequently than anywhere else on Etna

Photos of Etna, September 2000

These are the first new images of Etna to be posted on this web site after a long pause. They show the situation at the summit craters in late August to late September 2000. More photos, also of July 2000, will be added.

Left: A view into the E vent of the Bocca Nuova (also called "1964 vent") from SE on 23 August 2000. At that time this vent had two funnel-shaped pits (visible in the foreground and to the left of the white gas column), and one small open pit from which strong degassing occurred, accompanied by deep explosion sounds. Center: Noiseless emission of brownish ash from the E vent of the Bocca Nuova on 29 August 2000. These emissions were caused by material sliding from the vent walls into the conduit, from which they were re-ejected by the continuous gas stream. Right: View into the inactive westernmost of the pits within the E vent of the Bocca Nuova on 29 August 2000. The hole at the bottom of the pit was incandescent in mid February 2000, and some of the many thousands of the spectacular gas rings produced between February and July 2000 were emitted from this hole.
The three photos above show the Voragine and the NE Crater as seen from the SE rim of the Voragine on 23 August 2000. Large central pit of the Voragine is visible in left and right frames, emitting a dilute gas plume, while the smaller and more recent vent on its N side is seen emitting a dense column of white gas. Note flat floor of the Voragine around the central vent. The NE Crater is visible in the background in the center and right frames, emitting plumes of brown ash. Note steep flank of the NE Crater cone toward the Voragine, formed by collapse during the two powerful Voragine eruptions on 22 July 1998 and 4 September 1999.
Left: Wide angle view of the Voragine from N on 23 August 2000. The rim of the central pit is visible in the lower middle ground, and a white gas plume is being emitted from the small vent on its S rim. Behind the crest visible behind and to the left of the dense white gas plume lies the Bocca Nuova. Center: Zoom on the small S vent of the Voragine on 23 August 2000. Central vent is visible in the foreground. Right: S vent of the Voragine on 27 September 2000. Gas emission is less vigorous than one month earlier, but mild Strombolian activity has begun a few days earlier at the E vent of the Bocca Nuova, which lies behind the crest in the background.
Left: A look into the central pit of the Voragine from its NW rim on 27 September 2000. On that day gas emission from this vent was more vigorous than during the 23 August visit. Smaller S vent is at extreme right of the photo. Center: The cone of the SE Crater seen from the E rim of the Voragine on 23 August 2000. The fissure on the NNE side of the cone is at extreme left, a low hummock is visible at the lowermost vents at left. Photo has high contrast due to sun standing right above the SE Crater. Note complete absence of gas emission from the cone and the fissure. Right: The SE Crater cone seen from the terrace of the former Central Crater (to the SE of the Bocca Nuova) on 23 August 2000. Illumniation was bad when photo was taken, but the dimensions of the cone are visible.
Left: 2 m long bomb ejected from the SE Crater (background) during its paroxysm on 28 August 2000, which fell on the terrace SE of the Bocca Nuova. Photo was taken on 29 August, just a few hours after another but smaller paroxysm from the SE Crater, which did not throw any ejecta onto the platform. Person behind bomb gives scale. Center: Zoom on the lower part of the eruptive fissure on the NNE flank of the SE Crater cone (whose flank is visible at right), showing small cones that grew during the latest two paroxysms on 28 and 29 August 2000. Photo was taken a few hours after the latter of the two events, when there was still gas emission from the lower part of the fissure. View is from the E rim of the Voragine towards SE. Right: View toward S from the old Central Crater platform on 29 August 2000, showing the most recent lava flows erupted from the SE Crater onto the plain at its SW base as dark lobes. These flows were erupted in June 2000, extending only a few hundred meters from the base of the cone. Lavas erupted between late January and May 2000 were covered with a thick sheet of scoriae during SE Crater paroxysm during late May and early June when winds were blowing S and SW. White dot at upper left is the Torre del Filosofo mountain hut. The Montagnola, a large pyroclastic cone formed during a 1763 flank eruption, is visible in the distance, with the building of the upper cable car station near its right base.

Left: The cone of the NE Crater seen from W on 27 September 2000, two days after a light snowfall. The high curved ridge, the SW rim of the NE Crater, is presently the highest point on Etna. Small eminence at extreme left is the N rim of the crater, which is almost equally high, but appears significantly lower in this perspective. In the foreground is the tourist lookout for those who arrive near the summit from N (Piano Provenzana), rope marks the beginning of the restricted area while the sign at left describes what can be seen from this point. Right: The NE Crater cone seen from N on 27 September 2000. In this perspective the N rim of the crater forms the high point of the cone, while the (slightly higher) SW rim appears as a small black knob further right.

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