Lava flow on the northeastern flank, 1 November 2002

Statue of the patron saint of the town of Linguaglossa, Sant'Egidio, posted at the margin of the town facing the erupting volcano. Linguaglossa lies on the northeastern side of Etna, in full view of the Northeast Rift eruption, and during the first days of the eruption, lava flows advanced alarmingly fast in the general direction of the town. On 1 November 2002, when this photo was taken by Pippo Scarpinati, the activity at the Northeast Rift had markedly diminished and all lava flows except one had stopped, and the remaining active flow was advancing at a speed of a few meters per hour. Nonetheless, Sant'Egidio was left guarding for another few days

Although the eruption on the Northeast Rift has significantly lost in strength, the main lava flow is still advancing on the evening of 1 November 2002, heading northeast. It does no longer represent any threat to inhabited areas further downslope, but continues to burn and bury vegetation in one of Etna's most beautiful forests. The flow is contained, on its northern side, by a steep slope, which is actually the morphologically strongly expressed scarp of the Pernicana Fault (visible at right in the top left image)

Northeast flank, 2 November 2002

Views of Etna from Linguaglossa on the morning of 2 November 2002, showing voluminous ash production at the south flank vents (the shifting wind is now driving the ash to the northwest, thus far spared from ash falls of the eruption), gas emission but no longer explosive activity at the summit craters, and much reduced eruptive activity on the Northeast Rift (shown in detail in the right photograph)
Left image is a zoom on the summit area and the ash plume rising from the explosively active vents on the southern flank (the vents themselves are hidden behind the slope of the volcano). Note the dense yellowish gas plume rising from the Northeast Crater (at extreme right) and the slightly lower cone of the Southeast Crater in the center of the image, which has remained absolutely inactive during this eruption, in contrast with its involvement in the 2001 eruption. The photographs at center and right were taken at the beginning of the "Mareneve" road near Linguaglossa, where a roadblock had been placed, along with a remarkable temporary hospital, which remained standing there for a couple of weeks afterwards, although the Northeast Rift eruption ended three days after these photographs were taken (2 November 2002) Nota bene: if you ever happen to come to Etna's northern flank, follow the indications given on the white sign in the center photograph (Pizzeria "Sciaramanica"). You will not find equally sized and tasty pizzas anywhere else on Earth, and surely none prepared for you by a true geologist!

South flank, 2 November 2002

Bad signs in the sky: a dark column of ash is towering above the building of the Rifugio Sapienza on Etna's southern flank on 2 November 2002. The building, which had been completely restructured and was ready for re-inauguration in July 2001, had been seriously threatened by the lava flows of the eruption of that year. Now, little more than one year later, there's a new eruption under way, not far away from the crater that sent out the menacing lava flows in 2001. But so far this new eruption has produced only a short-lived lava flow on the southern flank, which stopped three days before this photo was taken by Pippo Scarpinati

While the eruption on the Northeast Rift is rapidly waning, it is vigorously continuing without signs of abating on the southern flank, and a huge new pyroclastic cone has begun to grow around the single vent remaining in activity.On 2 November 2002, when these photos were taken by Pippo Scarpinati, this cone was already as tall as that formed only about 1 km further to the southeast in 2001. Left photograph shows the inactive cone of the Southeast Crater in the background, while a dark column of ash is seen rising from the Bocca Nuova in the background of the center image. Right photograph was taken at nightfall, showing that there was much more incandescent material in the eruption column than the daylight view would have suggested

Fire fountaining from the new pyroclastic cone at 2750 m elevation (this is the elevation of the terrain in that place before the eruption, not that of the cone itself) on the evening of 2 November 2002, photographed by Pippo Scarpinati

South flank, 3 November 2002

Scenes from the tourist complex at the Rifugio Sapienza on the southern flank of Etna, 3 November 2002. Top left shows the parking lot lying below the departure station of the cable car, thickly covered with ash of the eruption initiated one week earlier. The building in left background of that image (shown enlarged below) is the restaurant "Esagonal", which fell victim to the eruption a few weeks later, when lava covered a fuel or water container, causing an explosion. Flying debris from the incandescent lava fell on the restaurant building, setting it ablaze. Top right photograph shows the black ash plume from the upper south flank vent darkening the sky above the departure station of the cable car

During the hike to the new eruptive sites on the southern flank on 3 November 2002, there are few little but interesting things to see. Left image shows the landscape so well known to thousands of tourists who visit Etna in "normal" times: the large scenic pyroclastic cones of the Monti Silvestri, formed during an eruption in 1892 (which, judging from the size of those cones, must have been pretty explosive as well, but back in 1892 the ash falls did not strike a society as vulnerable as that of 2002). In the foreground there is one of the lava flows of 2001, now being buried by the ash of a new eruption, and a surviving pole of the cable-car stands at left. Center image shows miniature slides in the fresh ash deposits covering a steep slope next to the dirt road leading upslope from the Rifugio Sapienza area. These slides are triggered by the rapid accumulation of ash on a steep surface, not by seismic activity or rainfalls (no rain has fallen on Etna since the beginning of the eruption one week earlier). There's quite some irony related to the photograph at right. It shows what remained of the arrival station of the cable car, which had been set ablaze by two small lava flows during the 2001 eruption and on this occasion transformed into an impressive ruin. For one year the ruin was a remarkable museum of destruction (see the post-2001 eruption photographs), and then, in September 2002, the company owning the cable car broke the ruin down, leaving only the foundations, which are still visible in the photograph at right. This was intended as the start of reconstruction, but before this could be effectively carried out, the new eruption began, and first the place was covered with ash. Then, at the end of 2002, lava flows from the new eruption covered the site for good, piling up to a thickness of 20 m.

Vigorous ash emission from the growing cone on the upper southern flank on 3 November 2002, seen from south, with the summit craters in the background. White vapor plume comes from the Bocca Nuova. Left photograph shows three smaller, inactive pyroclastic cones in front of the active one; these formed during the first days of the eruption when a fissure with a total length of 1 km was active. Dark cone at extreme left in center photograph is the prehistoric Monte Frumento Supino; note that at the time these photographs were taken it was still considerably higher than the new cone - now, after the end of the 2002-2003 eruption it is considerably lower. There's again some taste of irony in what the photo at right is showing. About one month before the beginning of the new eruption, in mid-September, a decision was made by the Etna Natural Park direction to give a name to the huge pyroclastic cone formed during the 2001 eruption in the place that was formerly known as the Piano del Lago. There had been much discussion about naming that cone, and proposals varied from "Montagnola 2" and "Cono del Lago" or "Cratere del Laghetto" to "Monte Tazieff". The decision that was eventually made surprised everybody. The name declared officially on 29 September 2002 was Monte Josémaria Escrivà (after a Spanish priest, founder of Opus Dei, who was to be canonized by the Pope a few days afterwards). On that day, a plate was fixed on a chunk of lava erupted in 2001, which at the same time symbolized the inauguration of a hiking path to the cone. The plate, visible in the lower right corner of the photograph at right and shown enlarged in the large version, says "Sentiero per il Monte Josémaria Escrivà" (footpath to Monte Josémaria Escrivà). Originally fixed at the height of an average person's head, the plate was about to be buried by the new ash when this photograph was taken, and now lies under lavas erupted later during the 2002-2003 eruption

Page set up on 3 August 2003