General Facts:
How was it formed?
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Mount Etna was formed when tectonic plates rubbing against each other. Because of this, magma is forced to the surface and forms a volcano. These plates are pushing towards each other due to convection currents in the mantle beneath the Earth's crust, and will eventually eliminate the Mediterranean. The volcano is intitially formed by the escaping lava depositing heavier loads close to the crack in the Earth forming layers in the characteristic cone shape.
What connection does your volcano have to plate tectonic motion?
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Etna is a composite volcano. It has been created by the Earth's active tectonic plate system – the African plate is moving below the Eurasian plate. As the Eurasian plate moves down into the Earth, it melts. Rising magma erupts at the surface as lava and ash and builds Etna in the process.
When did it last erupt?
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Mount Etna's last eruption was recently in 2013. There ar homes and villages on the slopes of the mountain, but luckily no evacuation was needed and there were no damages.
What kind of material was ejected when it erupted?
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Both lava and pyroclastic material (pyroclastic material is another name for a cloud of ash, lava fragments carried through the air, and vapor) come out of Mount Etna. It is a composite volcano which means it alternates between both materials.
Were any people affected? How?
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The las eruption of Mount Etna in 2013 has not affected anyone. Although, in 1669 there was a massive eruption on the island of Sicily in modern-day Italy. Multiple eruptions over the next few weeks killed more than 20,000 people and left thousands more homeless. The volcano began spewing out noxious fumes in large quantities. Approximately 3,000 people living on the slopes of the mountain died from asphyxiation. Even worse, Etna was soon emitting tremendous amounts of ash and molten lava. Following this disaster, it was decreed that interference with the natural flow of lava was prohibited in Italy, a regulation that remained in effect hundreds of years later.
Were any buildings affected? How?
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During the eruption in 2013, no homes or building were destroyed. The lava released from the volcano managed to stay within it's area and away from the community.