SituationEtna (3,343m/11,032ft), also called "Mongibello" (from
the Italian "monte" and the Arabic "giabal" = mountain) lies in
the east of the island of Sicily - close to the coast and
northwest of Catania. It is Europe's largest active volcano and
after the Alpine peaks the highest mountain in Italy. The area
has been designated as a National Park. Etna is one of the
youngest geological features in Sicily and rises in the form of
a truncated cone probably where an arm of the sea existed in
Tertiary times. The almost circular base is 40km/25mi in
diameter and 165km/102mi in circumference.The upper slopes have
only a meagre cover of vegetation; the porous rock allows water
to sink down rapidly to lower levels, where it meets an
impervious bed of rocks and emerges in many places as springs.
Oranges and lemons are grown up to about 500m/1,650ft, olives
and vines to 1,300m/4,290ft. Above this are forest trees and
macchia up to 2,100m/6,930ft, sometimes with recent lava flows
cutting through them. The summit regi