Stromboli

Mt. Stromboli
Elevation 926 m (3,038 ft)
Location
Location Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily (Italy)
Geology
Type Stratovolcano
Age of rock 20000 years
Last eruption 2010 (continuing) [1]
Climbing
Easiest route Hike

Stromboli (Sicilian: Stròmbuli, Greek: Στρογγύλη Strongulē) is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. This name is a corruption of the Ancient Greek name Strongulē which was given to it because of its round swelling form. The island has a population of between 400 and 850. The volcano has erupted many times, and is constantly active with major eruptions, often visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the island's nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean". The last major eruption was on April 13, 2009. Stromboli stands 926 m (3,034 ft) above sea level,[1] but actually rises over 2,000 m (6,500 ft) above the sea floor. There are three active craters at the peak. A significant geological feature of the volcano is the Sciara del Fuoco ("Stream of fire"), a big horseshoe-shaped depression generated in the last 13,000 years by several collapses on the northwestern side of the cone.

Stromboli is remarkable because of the length of time in which it has been in almost continuous eruption. For at least the last 20,000 years the same pattern of eruption has been maintained, in which explosions occur at the summit craters with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent volcanic bombs at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. This characteristic Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions from the summit craters typically result in a few second-lasting mild energetic bursts emitting ash, incandescent lava fragments and lithic blocks up to a few hundred metres in height. Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava flows do occur at times: an effusive eruption in 2002 was its first in 17 years.

The mildly explosive eruptions are also occasionally punctuated by much larger eruptions. The largest eruption of the last hundred years occurred in 1930, and resulted in the deaths of several people and the destruction of a number of houses by flying volcanic bombs. Large eruptions occur at intervals of years to decades, and the most recent large eruption began in 2002, causing the closure of the island to non-residents for several months. The eruption started with a lava flow (29 December 2002) along the "Sciara del Fuoco" flank that rapidly reached the sea. On 30 December 2002, a huge volume of rocks collapsed from the "Sciara del Fuoco" generating at least two landslides and many tsunami waves. The highest wave was 10 m high and caused serious damage at the Stromboli village. On 5 April 2003, a strong explosion from the summit crater ejected rocks that reached Ginostra village, damaging some houses. The eruption terminated on July 2003.

On 27 February 2000, two new craters opened on the island, with lava flowing into the sea from one of them. Ongoing eruptions at that time had become less predictable and consequently the summit was placed out of bounds to tourists, who flock to the island to observe the continuous eruption and flowing lava.

Contents

In popular culture

Sciara del fuoco ("Stream of fire") flank of the volcano

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Stromboli". Global Volcanism Program, Smithsonian Institution. http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=0101-04=. Retrieved 2009-01-01. 
  2. ↑ Stromboli (1950)
  3. ↑ Kilby, Clyde S; Plotz, Dick (1968). "Many Meetings with Tolkien: An Edited Transcript of Remarks at the December 1966 TSA Meeting". Niekas (Niekas Publications, New Hampshire, USA) (19): 39–40  Referred to at tolkienguide.com .

External links