Stromboli 1990 Location: 38.789° N, 15.213° E Elevation: 926 m   Spectacular incandescent nighttime explosions at Stromboli  volcano have long attracted visitors to the "Lighthouse of the  Mediterranean." Stromboli, the NE-most of the Aeolian Islands,  has lent its name to the frequent mild explosive activity that has  characterized its eruptions throughout much of historical time.  The small, 924-m-high island of Stromboli is the emergent  summit of a volcano that grew in two main eruptive cycles, the  last of which formed the western portion of the island. The  Neostromboli eruptive period from about 13,000 to 5000 years ago was followed by formation of the  modern Stromboli edifice. The active summit vents are located at the head of the Sciara del Fuoco,  a prominent horseshoe-shaped scarp formed about 5000 years ago as a result of the most recent of  a series of slope failures that extend to below sea level. The modern volcano has been constructed  within this scarp, which funnels pyroclastic ejecta and lava flows to the NW. Essentially continuous  mild strombolian explosions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded at  Stromboli for more than a millennium. (Global Volcanic Program)  HOME Stromboli, October 1990 Photos: Rolf Cosar click on pictures to enlarge