The tallest and most active volcano in Europe has gone through some explosive growth recently, as Mount Etna's frequent eruptions over the past six months causing it to gain an additional 100 feet (30 meters) in height, LiveScience reported, citing the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).
Mount Etna, which is in Sicily, Italy, has four summit craters. Of these, the youngest and most active one, residing on the southeast, is currently the tallest. At a height of 11,013 feet (3,357 meters), this is the tallest the volcano has ever been, LiveScience reported, citing INGV.
The volcano's height has often fluctuated over the years, with prior peaks reached in the 1980s declining after the edges of the craters collapse.
Mount Etna has the longest recorded history of eruptions out of every volcano on Earth, and erupts on average around 200 times per year since its first recorded eruption in 1500 BCE, according to NASA's Earth Observatory. The volcano even has a place in ancient mythologies, with the ancient Greeks believing the mountain contained the forges of the blacksmith god Hephaestus, as well as the prison of the primordial monster Typhon.
The Agency says that Mount Etna was once a submarine volcano, growing taller as layer upon layer of solidified lava built up over the course of around 300,000 years.