This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For the hearty residents northeastern Sicily, a hail of volcanic rocks and a sky simmering like Mordor are no big deal.
Europe's most active volcano, Mt. Etna, has been spewing ash, dust and lava onto it's surroundings in Sicily. Though the eruptions haven't made many major headlines here in the U.S., they have produced some impressive imagery. In the video above, ash and volcanic rocks shower quaint streets, cars and locals who go about their business with umbrellas. It's an impressive sight; in several places the ground is entirely blacked out and about halfway through the video someone holds several chunks of rock that are nearly as big as golf balls. By the end of the video, the streets don't even look paved anymore.
The video on the left is a little older — it was posted Nov. 17 — but no less impressive. Watch it in full screen for the greatest effect.
The video shows Mt. Etna dramatically spewing lava into the air. Narration in the video says the lava shot up 600 meters.
— Jim Dalrymple II
Twitter: @jimmycdii