Etna Lava Tubes Project was born with the aim of spreading knowledge of little-known or unpublished Etna caves.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 Below we report a census of little-known caves - for which information is not available elsewhere - or unpublished discovered by our team in particular by the founders of EtnaExcursion.it Dario & Paolo Teri.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.
Detected by Dario Teri (on 7.10.2018/XNUMX/XNUMX)
Notified to the relevant municipality on \\
This is a particular cavity of volcanic origin, not easily identifiable, inside a thick forest of holm oaks (quercus ilex) that has at least 2 artificial wells made with dry stone walls. Nearby there is also a very well-kept stone pagghiaro (cuburro) and several dry stone walls. Furthermore, a little further upstream, about 200 meters, just outside the forest, the surveyor reported an old mule track that goes up towards the base of Monte Grosso, so one could hypothesize the creation of a very interesting hiking itinerary that retraces the communication routes used before asphalt took over. In a far-sighted tourist vision, in order to enhance the area, the institutions should be involved, also to clean up the road from which you can access the path, unfortunately full of micro-dumps. The cave has two human-sized entrances, one wider upstream and one narrower downstream. Inside, there are 4 main "rooms" whose bottoms appear to have been remodeled by man to allow easier access and walking. The two main ones are separated by a thick dry stone wall. The room furthest upstream, as well as the largest, has an artificial well a couple of meters away. It is very probable, given the numerous artificial elements that are identified, such as the latter, that the cave was used as a snow pit. Also of naturalistic importance is the presence of numerous roots hanging from the ceiling of the holm oaks present on the surface. The indicated length estimates the overall measurement of the four rooms present. Notes: this is certainly not an unexplored cave, but little known and at the time of writing it would not appear to be registered or indicated on any map, even if it is likely that it could be known and named in dialect by veteran tradesmen (shepherds or mushroom pickers) of the area. Be careful in your search, once you reach the coordinates, as one of the wells is not very visible with the risk of falling into it.
Dario Teri October 7, 2018 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