Globe Rambler

The largest active volcano in Europe, Mt. Etna -10,910 ft (3,326 m)- located in the Italian island of Sicily, erupted on Tuesday, spewing huge amounts of lava.

Although the volcano erupts several times a year, this one was stronger forcing the nearby international airport from the city of Catania to shut down for a night due to volcanic ash on the speedways. In the first days of eruption, the rivers of lava posed no threat as they were heading to an uninhabited valley but as the time goes on the volcano shows no sign of stopping soon. The volcano still spits huge rivers of lava, and these along with huge clouds of smoke and black ash lead the government to declare a state of emergency.

Now the lava flow is approaching the village of Nicolosi. 2.5 miles above the village there is a big pool of lava in shallow basin formed in the mountain’s side and if the eruptions keep on going the situation could well worsen.

Mount Etna is a popular winter resort, but tourism officials say snow is unlikely to settle this winter because of the extreme heat of the lava, lava that already damaged ski lifts dotting the volcano’s slopes.

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