Rare Occurrence: Volcano Blowing Smoke Rings

Mt. Etna, the tallest and most active volcano in Europe, has been recently spewing hot lava into the air. Back in the summer of 2000, Etna was calmly blowing smoke rings into the air from the Bocca Nuova region of the mountain. Smoke rings from a volcano are rare and under special conditions, gas and steam expelled from a vent can form gas rings. But the phenomenon is so strange, in fact, that only three have been documented: Two from Etna in 1970 and 2000, and another from Eyjafjallajokull in Iceland, in May 2010.

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