About Mount Etna

About Mount Etna: 

• It is Europe’s most active volcano and one of the largest in the world.
• Its recorded volcanic activity dates back to 1500 B.C.
• Location: It is on the eastern coast of Sicily.
• It is the highest Mediterranean island mountain and the most active stratovolcano in the world. 
• It is about 3,326 metres high and is the highest peak in Italy South of the Alps.

What is a stratovolcano?

• It is also called a composite volcano.
• This volcanic landform is characterized by a conical shape formed by layers of volcanic material deposited during successive volcanic eruptions.
• These volcanoes tend to slope gently at the base but rise quickly near the summit to form tall mountain peaks.
• They are typically found above subduction zones, and they are often part of large volcanically active regions, such as the Ring of Fire that frames much of the Pacific Ocean.

Q1: What is the Subduction Zone?

A subduction zone is a spot where two of the planet's tectonic plates collide and one dives, or subducts, beneath the other. Tectonic plates are pieces of the Earth's rigid outer layer that slowly move across the planet's surface over millions of years.

Source: Italy's Etna and Stromboli volcanoes erupt, Catania Airport closed