Stromboli

Mt. Stromboli
Highest point
Elevation	924 m (3,031 ft) [1]
Prominence	924 m (3,031 ft) [1]
Coordinates	38°47′38″N 15°12′40″E / 38.79389°N 15.21111°ECoordinates: 38°47′38″N 15°12′40″E / 38.79389°N 15.21111°E
Geography
Mt. Stromboli Aeolian Islands, north of Sicily (Italy)
Geology
Age of rock	unknown
Mountain type	Stratovolcano
Last eruption	1934 to present [2]
Climbing
Easiest route	Hike

Stromboli (Italian pronunciation: [ˈstromboli]; Sicilian: Struògnuli, Ancient Greek: Στρογγύλη, Strongulē) is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sicily. This name is derived from the Ancient Greek name Strongulē which was given to it because of its round swelling form. The island's population is about 500.^[3] The volcano has erupted many times and is constantly active with minor eruptions, often visible from many points on the island and from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the island's nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean". The most recent major eruption was on 13 April 2009. Stromboli stands 926 m (3,034 ft) above sea level,^[2] and over 2,700 m (8,860 ft) on average above the sea floor.^[4] There are three active craters at the peak. A significant geological feature of the volcano is the Sciara del Fuoco ("Stream of fire"), a big horseshoe-shaped depression generated in the last 13,000 years by several collapses on the northwestern side of the cone. Two kilometers to the northeast lies Strombolicchio, the volcanic plug remnant of the original volcano.

The volcano

Eruption of Stromboli (animated)

Mt. Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for the past 2,000 years. A pattern of eruption is maintained in which explosions occur at the summit craters, with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent volcanic bombs, at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. This Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions from the summit craters typically result in a few short, mild, but energetic bursts, ranging up to a few hundred meters in height, containing ash, incandescent lava fragments and stone blocks. Mt. Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava flows do occur at times when volcanic activity is high: an effusive eruption occurred in 2002, the first in 17 years, and again in 2003, 2007, and 2013-14.

Settlements

From a helicopter

The two villages San Bartolo and San Vincenzo lie in the northeast while the smaller village Ginostra lies in the southwest.^[5] Administratively, they are one of the frazione of Lipari.

In the early 1900s a few thousand people inhabited the island,^[6] but after several emigrations the population numbered a few hundred by the mid-1950s.^[7]

Cinema and literature

• In Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864) by Jules Verne, the conclusion of the novel is set on Stromboli.
• Author J.R.R. Tolkien identified his fictional volcano Mount Doom in Mordor with the volcano of Stromboli, according to scholar Clyde S. Kilby.^[8]
• Stromboli (1950), also known as: Stromboli, land of God, is an Italian-American film set on Stromboli, directed by Roberto Rossellini and starring Ingrid Bergman.
• The climax of the 2007 novel The Book of the Dead, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, takes place on the summit of the Stromboli volcano.

See also

• List of volcanoes in Italy
• Stromboli (food)

References

1. "Stromboli, Italy". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2013-07-20.
2. "Stromboli". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2009-01-01.
3. "Isola di Stromboli (in Italian)". Comune di Lipari. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
4. Tibaldi, A., Corazzato, C., Marani, M., Gamberi, F. (2009). Subaerial-submarine evidence of structures feeding magma to Stromboli Volcano, Italy, and relations with edifice flank failure and creep. Tectonophysics, 469(1), 112-136.
5. Alean, Jürg; Roberto Carniel; Marco Fulle (2005-05-21). "Stromboli 1952-1953 - The village and the land". Stromboli online. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
6. Loschiavo, LindaAnn. "Return of the Native to Stromboli". Retrieved 31 August 2010. high point of 2,100 citizens in 1891
7. Alean, Jürg; Roberto Carniel; Marco Fulle (2005-05-21). "Stromboli 1952-1953 - Stromboli in 1952 and 53". Stromboli online. Retrieved 31 August 2010.
8. Kilby, Clyde S; Plotz, Dick (1968). "Many Meetings with Tolkien: An Edited Transcript of Remarks at the December 1966 TSA Meeting". Niekas (Niekas Publications, New Hampshire, USA) (19): 39–40. Referred to at tolkienguide.com and by another publication of the Niekas editor.

External links

• Stromboli travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Information about Stromboli and on its seismic monitoring network (italian)