Solitary Dog Sculptor I

On April 10, Italy’s Mount Etna unleashed a sudden and violent eruption (called a paroxysmal episode,) for the third time in 2011. According to the Instituto Nazionale de Geofisica e Vulcanologie (INGV; National Institute of Geology and Volcanology), this episode included lava fountaining, a new lava flow from the collapse pit in the Southeast Crater, and ash and gas emissions. Wind carried the plume of ash to the southeast. Lava flowed down the side of the mountain, exploding at times as it struck snow on the side of the volcano. The episode was not particularly long-lived, however, and by evening much of the activity had subsided.