Anita and Christian Treber on Lipari Island with the Island of Vulcano in the background - Eolian Islands, Sicily, Italy. Mr. Christian Treber has kindly permitted us to use his personal images and VolcanoWorld thanks him. Christian writes :
I hope you enjoy the pictures. If you have questions (i.e., want more information, use pictures on your Web site, or buy them) send an E-mail to me ([email protected]).
Crystalizing sulphur on a fumarole on Vulcano Island. The central crater of Vulcano Island (this is where all volcanoes get their name from!) still steams vigorously. Fumarloes exhale hot gases which often deposit beautiful sulphur crystals around the vent. Breathing is difficult in this environment, and a gas mask should be worn to protect lungs and the upper respiratory tract. The sulphur dioxide in the exhaled gases combines with the moist tissue of the lungs into sulphuric acid. I can tell from first hand experience this really hurts, and definitely should be avoided.
Pumice quarry on Lipari Island. Pumice has been quarried on Lipari Island for a long time. Pumice is used as a building material (the foamy structure makes great insulation) and for making abrasives. Working in the glaring white quarries was dangerous to eyes and lungs. Before the use of modern breathing protection equipment, many workers died of "Liparosis" (the clogging of the lungs with pumice dust). Doctors at the time remarked they could sharpen their scalpels with the lung tissue of deceased workers.
Stromboli crater terrace with five vents. Below the summit of Stromboli--which makes a great observation point--lies below crater terrace which had five vents in the spring of 1998. Each vent has its own character. One is periodically exhaling glowing gas as loud as a jet engine, another one produces high, narrow fountains of glowing red cinders, and the next one puffs out big black balls of ash. Quite a spectacle to watch for a couple of hours.
Rare dual eruption of Stromboli. Almost every 15 to 30 minutes, Stromboli erupts and throws up gas and glowing fragments of lava into the sky. This picture shows a rare multiple eruption of two of the five vents at the same time. Though the display Stromboli puts on really is a remarkable sight, it is not safe to be so close to an active volcano. Every couple of months, a big explosion showers watchers with hot lava fragments. People have been killed by blocks tossed 100 meters from the vent.
A house in Zafferana run over by lava in Etna's 1991-92 eruption. The 'a'a lava stream stopped 100 m short of the village of Zafferana, located at the exit of the Valle del Bove on Etna. Quite late in the eruption, the government tried to influence the flow by blocking the lava tube high up on the slopes with concrete blocks. This didn't work very well. "They melted like cookies in hot coffee," one observer remarked. A few houses and gardens were buried under lava before the flow finally stopped. The graffiti, "Grazie governo," ("Thank you, Government") shows not everybody thought the authorities did enough to protect their property.