Stromboli Location: 38.789° N, 15.213° E Elevation: 926 m Stromboli 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 a  corruption of the Ancient Greek name Strongule which was given to it  because of its round swelling form. The island's population is between  400 and 850. 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 last major eruption was on April  13, 2009. Stromboli stands 926 m above sea level, but actually rises over  2,000 m above the sea floor. 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 kilometres to the northeast lies Strombolicchio, the volcanic plug remnant  of the original volcano. Mt Stromboli has been in almost one continuous eruption for the past 2000 years. This pattern of eruption has  been 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  characteristic Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other  volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions from the summit craters typically result in a  few second-lasting mild energetic bursts emitting ash, incandescent lava  fragments and lithic blocks up to a few hundred meters in height. Stromboli's  activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava flows do occur at times: an  effusive eruption in 2002 was its first in 17 years. (Wikipedia) After the unusual eruptive events from December 2002 until July 2003  Stromboli has returned to its «normal» activity of intermittent eruptions from  the summit craters. Since these events is the access to the summit (Pizzo)  strictly forbidden. Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar click on photos to enlarge October 2003 Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar Photo: Rolf Cosar HOME