EFFECT OF THE ERUPTION
During the next day a quantity of lava flowed down the Val del
Bove, branching off so that one stream advanced to the foot of Monte
Finocchio, and the other to Monte Calanna. Afterwards it flowed towards
Zaffarana, and devastated a large tract of wooded region. Four days
later a second crater was formed near the first, from which lava was
emitted, together with sand and scoriae, which caused cones to arise
around the craters. The lava moved but slowly, and towards the end of
August it came to a stand, only a quarter of a mile from Zaffarana.
On the second of September, Gemellaro ascended Monte Finocchio in the
Val del Bove in order to witness the outburst. He states that the hill
was violently agitated, like a ship at sea. The surface of the Val
del Bove appeared like a molten lake; scoriae were thrown up from the
craters to a great height, and loud explosions were heard at frequent
intervals. The eruption continued to increase in violence. On October
6 two new mouths opened in the Val del Bove, emitting lava which flowed
towards the valley of Calanna, and fell over the Salto della Giumenta,
a precipice nearly 200 feet deep. The noise which it produced was like
that of a clash of metallic masses. The eruption continued with abated
violence during the early months of 1853, and it did not finally cease
till May 27. The entire mass of lava ejected is estimated to have been
equal to an area six miles long by two miles broad, with an average
depth of about twelve feet.
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