Flank Crater - Mount Etna, Sicily - Clouds Sweeping past the Cone

Clouds sweep past a wooded volcanic cone on Mount Etna, while patches of snow and dark lava cover the rugged slopes below.

Clouds sweep past one of Mount Etna's many flank cones, creating a dramatic backdrop to the dark, partially wooded crater rising above the snow-covered volcanic landscape. Black lava and scattered patches of snow fill the foreground, while trees growing across the older cone show how vegetation gradually reclaims Etna's volcanic terrain. Mount Etna's flanks are dotted with several hundred secondary or adventitious pyroclastic cones, created when eruptions occur from fissures and vents away from the main summit craters. INGV notes that these cones are particularly concentrated along three major volcanic rift zones: the South Rift, West Rift and Northeast Rift. Their appearance varies considerably with age and elevation. Younger cones may remain barren and dark, while older formations can gradually develop woodland and other vegetation as volcanic material weathers and soils begin to form. Together with lava flows, fissures and summit craters, these numerous cones contribute to the remarkably complex landscape that led to Mount Etna's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2013.