Etna Lava Flows, 1971-1993
[ Etna Home Page | Italian volcanoes map | Main Index | Home Page ]

Etna Decade Volcano, Sicily, Italy


Maps of lava flows 1971-1993

A few introductory words

The maps on this page show the approximate extent of lava flows erupted from Etna in all eruptions between 1971 and 1993. A map showing the same general area with the outlines of the 1928 and 1950-1951 eruptions is displayed for reference at the top. Topography is based on the map by Rasà, Romano and Lo Giudice (1982), summit craters are updated to 1998. Contour interval is 250 m. Flow outlines are after numerous sources, including the comprehensive work of Azzarro and Neri (1992) and mapping by Romano and others at the Istituto Internazionale di Vulcanologia. Where possible, different versions of maps were compared and the most detailed versions were used.
Flows of each eruption are outlined in red color while previous flows (erupted after 1971) are outlined in pink. The names of the summit craters and Valle del Bove are indicated on the first (pre 1971) map and are not labeled in the other maps. All maps contain one or more of the following labels: TDF (Torre del Filosofo), M (Montagnola) and RS (Rifugio Sapienza).
These maps are the first series of digital maps showing the distribution of historic lava flows from Etna, and maps of earlier eruptions will follow. They are reproductions as precise as possible from the published sources, but may contain imprecisions and errors where original mapping or reproduction was inaccurate. Nonetheless they should provide an idea of the geography of Etna and its products to the visitors of this site.


Before
1971

Map of Etna's summit craters and Valle del Bove, showing lava flows of 1928 and 1950-1951, the most recent major flows in that area before 1971. Flows of eruptions in 1942, 1949, and 1955-1970 are not shown. Features visible in the following maps (such as the summit craters, Torre del Filosofo, Montagnola and Rifugio Sapienza) are labeled. Note that the summit craters are indicated as they are in 1998: the SE Crater only appeared during the 1971 eruption.

1971
eruption

Eruption of 5 April - 5 June 1971. During the first stage, vents on the southern and southeastern base of the main summit cone were active, feeding flows that advanced south and southeast. The Etna Observatory and the upper station of the cable car as well as numerous cable car poles were destroyed during this stage. The second stage of the eruption occurred from fissures propagating downslope across the upper western flank of Valle del Bove towards the northeast. The main vents opened outside Valle del Bove, feeding flows that advanced towards the villages of Fornazzo and Sant'Alfio, narrowly missing the former. Isolated buildings and vast areas of cultivated land were destroyed. Click here to see a few photos of the eruption.

1974
eruption

Eruption of 30 January - 29 March 1974 on the western flank, the first eruption in that area since 1763 (other eruptions further north took place in 1832 and 1843). The eruption built two small cones known as Monti De Fiore; the overall volume and magnitude of the eruption was unusually small.

1974-1978
eruptions

Lava flow-field erupted during a long-standing eruption lasting from September 1974 until early January 1977 (involving NE Crater and vents downslope from NE Crater, on the N flank) and from NE Crater during the period July 1977 - March 1978. The activity from vents several km downslope from the NE Crater, in the area of Punta Lucia, can be considered a "hybrid" between a true flank eruption and a summit eruption because it was clearly related to the NE Crater and represented a mere shift of the persistent activity from that cone to vents further downslope.

First 1978
eruption

The first of three flank eruptions in 1978 (all three took place in Valle del Bove) lasted from 29 April until 5 June 1978 and lava flows covered the central part of the Valle del Bove. This eruption began at SE Crater which experienced its first magmatic activity (during 1971 its activity had been only the expulsion of old fragmented material).

Second
1978 eruption

Second 1978 eruption, 24-30 August 1978. At the height of the activity, eight vents were active; these lay on numerous fracture systems extending northeastward, similar to the trend of the 1971 flank eruption.

Third 1978
eruption

The third flank eruption of 1978 lasted from 18 to 29 November 1978; like during its two predecessors numerous complex fracture systems were active, producing several flows that advanced across Valle del Bove. At the height of the eruption, the main flow rapidly advanced towards Val Calanna, at the southeastern end of Valle del Bove, above the town of Zafferana. The eruption ended before this flow could do any harm to the town and its outskirts.

1979
eruption

Eruptive activity started at SE Crater on 16 July 1979, but the main phase of the eruption began on 3 August when this crater ejected huge lava fountains and a major tephra column, causing ash falls as far as 80 km south. Lava was emitted from a complex fracture system in Valle del Bove; two days later lava issued from the location of the upper 1928 fissure, outside Valle del Bove on the outer northern flank. The main lava flow, emitted from vents in the northern part of Valle del Bove, advanced close to the village of Fornazzo which narrowly escaped destruction. The eruption ended on 9 August, but a phreatic vent-clearing explosion killed 9 people at Bocca Nuova on 12 September. Photos of the eruption can be viewed here.

1981
eruption

One of the most dramatic eruptions at Etna in recent decades, 17-23 March 1981. An 8 km-long fracture system with numerous active segments propagated downslope in about 36 hours, from an elevation of about 2500 m to 1150 m, close to the town of Randazzo and the village of Montelaguardia. The main flow passed right between these two towns but destroyed hundreds of isolated buildings, and buried arable land, roads, two railroads, and power lines. Go here for a more detailed description and photos.

1983
eruption

This eruption lasted from 28 March to about 6 August 1983. In contrast to the dramatic 1981 eruption, this event was of a very mild character, with low lava effusion rates; nonetheless it affected a sector with numerous tourist facilities such as cable-car, restaurants, roads, and numerous isolated private buildings. This eruption became world-famous for various, and partly successful, attempts to divert, or block, the course of lava flows threatening major structures.

1984
eruption

Long-lasting summit eruption from SE Crater, lasting from about 30 April until 10 October 1984. This eruption was characterized by Strombolian activity and slow lava effusion, and a sizeable scoria cone was built in the eastern part of the SE Crater depression.

First 1985
eruption

Eruption of 8 March - 13 July on the upper southern flank, close to the 1983 eruption site. The initial stage of this eruption involved intense activity at SE Crater. Main eruptive fracture cut through the "Piccolo Rifug io" mountain hut at the western base of Montagnola. The lava flow-field developed somewhat west of the upper 1983 flows and did not threaten man-made structures except in the vent area.

Second
1985 eruption

Short-lived eruption on 26-30 December 1985, from vents high on the western wall of Valle del Bove. This eruption coincided with a seismic crisis that mainly affected the northeastern sector of Etna, and caused the collapse of the hotel "Le Betulle" on the northeastern flank, killing one person.

1986-1987
eruptions

On this map there are the lava flows of two distinct events: the NE Crater eruption of mid-July to 24 September 1986 and the Valle del Bove eruption of 30 October 1986 - 27 February 1987 from fractures following the northeastern trend, like the 1971 eruption, some of the 1978 events and 1979 eruption. Although spectacular and threatening to many people (mostly geologists working in the summit area), the effects of the NE Crater eruption were limited to ash falls that affected Catania and forced the closure of its airport. The flank eruption did not cause any damage. Phreatic activity from SE Crater after its cessation, in mid-April 1987, led to the death of two persons.

1989
eruption

This complex and dramatic eruption occurred in two stages: one, with episodic events from SE Crater, lasted from 11 until 26 September 1989 and was followed by the second, 27 September until 10 October 1989, which involved the opening of an eruptive fracture in Valle del Leone (the northwestern part of Valle del Bove) and of a non-eruptive fracture towards southeast (both fractures are indicated as broken lines in the map). While the lava flows from the Valle del Leone vents did not cause damage, the southeastern fracture caused much concern because it was feared that it might serve as a pathway for future intrusions of magma leading to eruption at low elevation. The 1991-1993 eruption in fact reactivated the upper part of this fracture.

1990
eruptions

Series of paroxysmal eruptions from SE Crater, similar to the events during the early stage of the 1989 eruption, lasting from 2 January to 15 February 1990. The most voluminous and powerful event in this series on 5 January 1990 ranks among the most intensely explosive eruptions of Etna during the past 300 centuries.

1991-1993
eruption

The most voluminous and longest-lasting eruption at Etna since more than 300 years began on 14 December 1991 and ended on 30 March 1993. Although being characterized by low lava effusion rates and little explosive activity this eruption became famous because its lava flows threatened a part of the town of Zafferana and numerous efforts were undertaken (with partial success) to divert the lava flow and stop the advance of the flow front towards Zafferana. Orchards and a few isolated buildings above Zafferana were destroyed.


Page set up on 24 November 1998, last modified on 8 February 1999
Hosted by VolcanoDiscovery