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Cathérine, a French tourist from the city of Lyon, had spent two days in a tent on Monte Zoccolaro (a peak on the S rim of the Valle del Bove, about 6 km from the summit of Etna) to be there for the 14 June 2000 paroxysm of the SE Crater. The crater is seen in the background in full eruption, with lava fountains from at least four vents and a dense tephra column. Photo by Giuseppe Scarpinati |
Eruptive episode at the SE Crater
14 June 2000
The view from Monte Zoccolaro - photos by Giuseppe Scarpinati
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The three photos above show the gradual intensification of the Strombolian activity at the beginning of the eruptive episode, before the phase of continuous lava fountaining and tephra emission began. A large jet of incandescent pyroclastics can be seen at the summit vent, while two smaller fountains are playing from vents on the eruptive fissure cutting the N flank of the SE Crater cone (right). A ribbon of bluish white gas is rising from a lava flow that has been emitted before the onset of explosive activity from the N flank fissure. The photo at left shows the initial stage of the main paroxysmal phase | |
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The culminating stage of the paroxysm is shown in the four photos above. Note lava fountain shooting up high on the S (left) flank of the SE Crater cone. The tephra plume is driven to the N by strong wind. The photos at left and right are zooms onto the SE Crater cone during the phase of high lava fountaining and intense tephra emission. The upper part of the cone is veiled in brownish dust produced by the impact of numerous bombs. Lava fountains can be seen at the southern vent (left) and at two or more vents on the N flank (right) |  |
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Copyright © Boris Behncke, "Italy's Volcanoes: The Cradle of Volcanology"
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set up on 28 June 2000