Mount Etna: Photos of the Largest Active Volcano in Europe

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Rumble rumble

Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Italy.

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There she blows!

Mount Etna is located near the east coast of the island of Sicily.

(Image credit: Marco Di Lauro/Stringer/Getty)

Mount Etna is located near the east coast of the island of Sicily. Residents there are no stranger to the volcano's explosive activity; Mount Etna can rumble to life several times a year.

Active volcano

Mount Etna is almost constantly belching gas or lava. The famously active volcano is 10,900 feet (3,329 meters) tall, making it the tallest volcano in Europe.

(Image credit: Marco Di Lauro/Stringer/Getty)

The volcano is almost constantly belching gas or lava. Smaller eruptions occur several times each year, but the volcano's last major eruption occurred in 1992.

Cloud of ash

Mount Etna can rumble to life several times a year, but the volcano's last major eruption was in 1992.

(Image credit: ISS/NASA/Getty)

The famously active volcano is 10,900 feet (3,329 meters) tall, making it the tallest volcano in Europe. In 2013, Mount Etna was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Short, violent bursts

Mount Etna often comes to life in short, violent bursts called paroxysms.

(Image credit: Marco Di Lauro/Stringer/Getty)

Mount Etna was described in The Aeneid, a Latin epic poem written by the Roman poet Virgil. The volcano has a longer written record of eruptions than any other volcano on Earth.

Big eruptions

Mount Etna's last major eruption was in 1992.

(Image credit: Marco Di Lauro/Stringer/Getty)

Mount Etna's last major eruption was in 1992. After that explosive event, the town of Zafferana was threatened by lava flow.

Fountains of lava

Mount Etna has been active for at least half a million years, and there is a longer record of its activity than any other volcano on Earth.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Mount Etna has been active for at least half a million years, and there is a longer record of its activity than any other volcano on Earth.

View from space

Authorities monitor Mount Etna's activity closely, and eruptions and the resulting ash clouds can sometimes affect nearby towns and resorts.

(Image credit: NASA/Getty)

Authorities monitor Mount Etna's activity closely, and eruptions and the resulting ash clouds can sometimes affect nearby towns and resorts.

Calm before the storm

Mount Etna is 10,900 feet (3,329 meters) tall and has a base circumference of about 93 miles (150 kilometers).

(Image credit: Phil Inglis/Getty)

Mount Etna is 10,900 feet (3,329 meters) tall and has a base circumference of about 93 miles (150 kilometers).

Flowing lava

Mount Etna's eruptions produce enough lava each year to fill Chicago's Willis Tower (the former Sears Tower), according to a 2012 study.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Mount Etna's eruptions produce enough lava each year to fill Chicago's Willis Tower (the former Sears Tower), according to a 2012 study.

Sky high

Though Mount Etna is almost constantly active, the volcano's last major eruption was in 1992.

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Though Mount Etna is almost constantly active, the volcano's last major eruption was in 1992. Geoscientists are still trying to figure out why Mount Etna is so active and erupts in so many different ways.

Denise Chow
Denise Chow
Live Science Contributor

Denise Chow was the assistant managing editor at Live Science before moving to NBC News as a science reporter, where she focuses on general science and climate change. Before joining the Live Science team in 2013, she spent two years as a staff writer for Space.com, writing about rocket launches and covering NASA's final three space shuttle missions. A Canadian transplant, Denise has a bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, and a master's degree in journalism from New York University.