Etna

(sometimes written ÆTNA,) (Mount,) (èt'nah,) a great volcano of Sicily, on its E. coast, abt. 10 m. from Catania, and 63 m. in circumference. It attains an elevation of 10,874ft. above sea-level, and its base is covered with towns, villages, corn-fields, and vineyards. The eruptions of E. have been many; the first (no date given) was that recorded by Diodorus Siculus; the 2d, 734B. c., has been described by Thucydides. Since that period not fewer than 31 outbreaks are recorded; that of 1693, attended with an earthquake, being the one most destructive in its consequences. The last great eruption occurred in 1787. [s. 343]