SPACEPHOTOS

Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy June 1996 Mt. Etna, located in the center of the image, is one of the most active and most studied shield volcanoes in the world. The summit of Mt. Etna is 10991 feet (3350 meters) above sea level. Four small craters are located at the summit. Several cinder cones (generally circular-shaped features) are visible at various locations around the flanks of the volcano. The different colored terrain on the flanks of the volcano indicate lava flows that have occurred at different times and have produced a variety of surface roughness on the slopes of the volcano. One of the reasons that Mt. Etna is closely monitored is to provide advance warning of a major eruption to the surrounding towns and villages that are found around the base of the volcano. Notice that there is a small cloud coming from one of the craters in the summit area at the time this photograph was acquired (T2760 is a color infrared image of Mt. Etna).