Etna Lava Tubes Project was born with the aim of spreading knowledge of little-known or unpublished Etna caves. Natural phenomena among the most fascinating of our volcano. Many texts report that on Etna there are at least 260 known caves. In reality the formation of lava tubes is very common and the number of caves is destined to increase considerably. Below we report a census of little-known caves - for which information is not available elsewhere - or unpublished discovered by our team in particular by the founders of EtnaExcursion.it Dario & Paolo Teri. During an exploratory campaign that began "for fun" in 2018 and still (April 2023), about 70 have been found, not considered in the general count indicated above. Here we report only those considered most interesting from a naturalistic point of view. For the caves already surveyed we recommend a visit to EtnaNatura.it and Mungibeddu.it
Exploration: Easily accessible and visitable with just lights and helmet.
Taken over by Dario & Damiano Teri (on 02.07.2019)
The Nd was communicated to the relevant municipality
This is a cave that is not very large overall but has a very interesting morphology thanks to the lava flow channel on which it develops, generated by the fracture located further south-west of the 1610 eruption. A curiosity in this regard. Some maps (igm) mark the lavas in the area with the date 1607, but the latest geological map raises doubts about the dating since at the time only one eruption on multiple fractures would have occurred in 1610. Most people are familiar with the famous and beautiful Grotta degli Archi generated by this eruption. This cave was probably used as a shelter or watering hole by the shepherds of the area as an old horseshoe was found inside, probably belonging to a mule and left on site by the writer. This theory is supported by the fact that the cave can be reached by an ancient mule track that connected it to the “small” Monte Scavo, unfortunately recently interrupted by the lava of February 2015. From a morphological point of view, the cave develops on a beautiful channel on which two different galleries open, one of which is narrower. The presence of lava flow streaks and also numerous lava pendants (also improperly called remelting stalactites) is reported. Notes: In addition to the position of the cave, which does not appear to be listed in any available source, the track of the path has also been reported on the Open Street Map, which is also not marked, very interesting. However, it is certainly not an unknown cave, at least in the past, but little known, even if it is likely that it could be known and named in dialect by veteran craftsmen (mainly shepherds) of the area. However, there were no cairns, neither along the mule track nor other recent signs in the cave, therefore for easy cataloguing the name in question was given, dedicated to the daughter and sister of the person who discovered it.
Dario Teri July 2 2019 Unseen & Little-Known Etna Caves No Responses
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How are volcanic caves formed?
Lava tubes are very common on Etna. They form during an eruption ...
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16th August 2023 – On August 14th there was a paroxysm (a “lightning” eruption) from the summit craters which has already ended. Everything falls within the normal Etna phenomena. There is no danger for the population and visitors. The excursions are taking place regularly. GO TO NEWS