Etna Lava Tubes Project was born with the aim of spreading knowledge of little-known or unpublished Etna caves.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 Below we report a census of little-known caves - for which information is not available elsewhere - or unpublished discovered by our team in particular by the founders of EtnaExcursion.it Dario & Paolo Teri.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: Not easily accessible, can be visited with only lights and helmet.
Taken over by Dario and Paolo Teri (on 27.4.2021)
Notified to the relevant municipality on \\
The Grotta della Volpe is a classic example of a lava flow cave on Etna on the lavas of 1892, the same ones that originated the Silvestri Craters. The peculiarity of this cavity, which makes it interesting to visit, is the consistent recirculation of fresh air that can be felt even outside especially in the summer period and the presence of animal bones at the bottom of the cave, presumably the remains of a fox's banquet, hence the name given. The lava tube winds for 82 meters on a single channel. The entrance is made up of the ephemeral mouth of the lava river and is easily accessible. The bottom is made up of AA type lava. After about twenty meters there is a concretion of translucent white minerals. More or less after having traveled 50 meters from the entrance there is a collapse that has thinned the vault to the point of creating an air passage that creates the recirculation we spoke about above. After having overcome a narrowing of a few meters, the vault rises back up to its average height of a couple of meters. Nearby there are other similar caves detected and inserted on the Open Street Maps by the same authors, among which we point out the Grotta dei Penitenti, included in the census and the Grotta Garbage, a small cavity in which unfortunately there are several bags and plastics, transported by the wind, from the Rifugio Sapenza.
Dario Teri 27 April 2021 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