2015-07-02
【Aiden in English】
Everyone has heard of Mt. Vesuvius. It's famous for the powerful eruptions that leveled cities. Regarding Mt. Etna, which towers almost 3,329 meters (10,922 feet) above sea level in Sicily, everyone says, "Huh?" Well, you don't have to destroy cities to be famous. Compared to Mt. Vesuvius, Mt. Etna is the tallest and most active volcano in Europe, with many more sites to explore. All Mt Etna needs to surpass Mt. Vesuvius in fame is a cool-sounding name and a stupid civilization that settles within a 16 km/10-mile radius. Most different, Mt. Vesuvius is a dormant volcano, while Mt. Etna put on a fantastic firework show in June 2015. Yeah, it came just a few weeks ago! It didn't make a confident builder, considering that's where we were going on the unbearable hot day, and it was perfectly organized. The bus dropped the tourists off at 2,000 meters (6,562 feet), and I pulled out a jacket I thought I would never use again. It was 50°F/10°C and seemed refreshing. Signs of ancient and recent lava flows scarred the mountainside throughout our slow drive up the slope. Terrifying moments passed through history here and there; at one point, the lava reached within a village's 30-meter/100-foot radius. It was freaking out even to think about how the people lived so close by. Nowadays, lava to civilians is a free fireworks show. What was left behind was a flurry of natural activity. The Galapagos Islands are volcanoes, so that's just an example of the benefits of volcanic soil. Flowers grew on the mountainside, in cracks, on rocks, and everywhere imaginable. They were startlingly colorful, with bright yellows and Sicilian greens. At one point, a patch of the area appeared to be growing algae. What seemed to be an excellent natural phenomenon was simply a group of tiny green buds blooming in numbers like soapworts. This provoked a question: was this the start of a wondrous natural place like the Galapagos? Volcanic rock and soil are fertile for farming, but more importantly, for certain wild plants. Was time the only missing ingredient in the equation? At 2,000 meters/6,562 feet, the volcano started to take shape. The fascinating Silvestri Spent Craters were splitting off the central mountain after it erupted in 1986, and unfortunately, that was the only thing we could explore. We were given a tiny 30 minutes! How are you supposed to explore an entire volcano in 30 minutes?! Nevertheless, we focused on a single crater with an excellent view of the countryside. What seemed odd about this particular volcano was that the surrounding area was relatively flat. A plain surrounded the volcano, and to be honest, I think that the volcano is more dangerous. If there aren't any slopes to stop the lava flow, you'll have a very modern version of Pompeii. Another odd thing was a change in the rock color. Some were red, others were black, and some were in the regular shade of gray (not the color used in the TV show). The crater at the bottom was filled with red rocks, and the guide confirmed my uncertainty about this different scenario. When the lava cooled, it hardened. (Let's start easy.) Pressure built in the rock that lava transformed into the tubing. (It's getting a bit harder.) The rock then had two options: to burst or to contain the pressure. If the pressure was kept contained, the gas in the lava was trapped, causing it to gain weight and become gray. If the gas were released, the lava tubing would exhibit light cracks with holes, and the color would depend on the chemical reactions that occurred between the gas and the air when it was released. (It's a little too hard, isn't it?) Whatever the reason, Mom went crazy and picked up some rocks to bring home. If you wish to see them, tickets are on sale now for $5 each. We are open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Season passes are available for $50 per person and can be purchased within the next seven days, and you'll receive a free rock-of-the-year choice from our backyard! Although Mt. Etna has a deceiving name, it is a fantastic place to see. Volcanoes signify destruction, but this mountain has many natural beauties. So come and see some rocks at my house today! In 2013, Mount Etna was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 【紅霞譯】 人人都聽說過維蘇威“煙霧”火山，其威力超強並將周圍鄰村近舍全部夷為平地；西西里“肥沃”島埃特納“燃燒”火山海拔3,329米／10,922英尺左右，大家頂多疑惑地發出“啊哼“的一聲，這麼說吧，火山完全不必靠有無毀滅性來一鳴驚人。
比起維蘇威火山，埃特納火山素以歐洲最高峰最活躍著稱，至今很多地方頻有爆發，埃特納火山單憑聲譽美貌及方圓16公里／10英里內鄉鎮林立，足以超越維蘇威火山。當然兩者之間最大區別在於，維蘇威火山屬於休眠火山，而埃特納火山上個月也就是2015年6月份剛剛噴發了一次，說得一點沒錯，正好在今天親臨現場之前幾個星期，鑑於這種情況，炎炎烈日下我們一行誠惶誠恐地跟着導遊奔赴景地。旅遊大巴停靠2,000米／6,562英尺，所有遊客從這裡開始徒步前行，我拿出久壓箱底的外套，想不到在這沒它不成，此時外面氣溫僅有華氏50／攝氏10來度涼氣襲人；登山途中舊時乃至新近生成的熔岩流隨處可見，景觀十分恐怖，有些岩漿竟然流到離村莊3米／10英尺以近的地方，簡直不敢想象老百姓怎麼膽敢住到火山跟前；如今當地人近水樓台，可以第一時刻免費觀賞煙花表演，身後難免留下滿目瘡痍，與厄瓜多爾巨龜群島火山島相似，由火山灰形成的土壤肥沃，山坡旁、裂縫裡、岩石上百花齊放，令人激動不已，黃色西西里綠色明亮奪目，看上去有時倒覺得像苔蘚植物，這些嫣紫奼紅的肥皂草冒出綠芽競相開放，讓我禁不住捫心自問：難道此處真是另外一個猶如巨龜群島奇妙的地方嗎？火山岩層和火山泥土有助於農耕，重要的是如此豐富的養份足以扶植奇花異草，不正是植物生長所必需的要素嗎？
從2,000米／6,562英尺開始，埃特納火山地貌發生顯著變化，林中人火山口自1986年爆發以來算是出盡風頭，因為時間緊迫，我們別無選擇地只能抓住它不放，卅分鐘算個啥！怎麼可能用這麼短的功夫光顧其它地方？！既然如此我們集中精力探尋這個被鄉村環抱的單一火坑，奇怪的是火山口周圍非常平緩，我本以為周邊空地同樣比較危險，要不是山坡上凸起的部分擋住熔岩流，這裡恐怕要變成另一個龐培古城；令人不解的還有岩石顏色，有的紅，有的黑，有的灰暗（別跟電視播放的東西混為一談），火山口底部為紅色岩石，導遊很快詮釋存在我心底的疑慮，原來岩漿冷卻後變硬（先從簡單的入手），只要內部壓力加大熔岩就會轉化成熔岩管（稍微難理解一點）。接下來岩石面臨兩種選擇：要麼破裂要麼頂住內壓，如果壓力不減熔岩便產生氣體，但氣體滯留在熔岩里，重量就會增加，顏色相應變灰；一旦氣體釋放出來，熔岩管出現裂縫，並伴有各種大小的窟窿，自身光澤則根據空氣氧化後所形成的化學反應來定。（太難了，對嗎？）不管出於什麼動機，媽媽順手牽羊，當即撿了幾塊火山石帶回家來，因此假如你有興趣，歡迎購票前來參觀，票價五美元一張，我們早上十點開門，下午五點打烊，同時還出售五十美元一張的季節性聯票，未來七天恭候光臨，你會免費收到一份來自敝舍後院精心挑選的石子禮物。 儘管埃特納火山名聲不太好聽，但絕對叫你大飽眼福，火山無疑給人類帶來危害，不過埃特納火山自然風景優美，現在先來我家看一看火山石再說！ 2013年，埃特納火山被聯合國教科文組織納入《世界遺產名錄》。 Today in History(歷史上的今天):
2015: Messina Strait, Italy(意大利墨西拿海峽) 2015: Messina in Sicily, Italy(意大利西西里島墨西拿) 2015: Taormina over the Ionian Sea, Italy(意大利陶爾米納·愛奧尼亞海畔浪漫鎮)
2014: YMCA Basketball Camp(基督教青年會籃球營)  Rifugio Sapienza, the Highest Point to Reach on Etna by Car
(薩皮恩扎“智慧”大本營·開車到達埃特納火山的最高點 07-02-2015)  Signpost of Crateri Silvestri
(西爾維斯特里“林地”火山口·路標)
 Fragments of Rock, Minerals, and Volcanic Glass
（岩石、礦物和火山玻璃碎片組成的火山灰 07-02-2015)
 Crateri Silvestris @ 1,900 Meters/about 6,200 Feet above Sea Level Formed by Lateral Eruption in 1892
(西爾維斯特里火山口群·位於海拔1,900米/約6,200英尺處，由1892年的側向噴發形成 07-02-2015)  Crateri Silvestri, Offering a Lunar Landscape
(西爾維斯特里火山口·提供月球景觀 07-02-2015)
 Valle del Bove, A Major Horseshoe-Shaped Depression
(博夫“牛”谷·馬蹄形大凹陷 07-02-2015)
 A Desert Covered w/ Recent Lava Flows
(新近熔岩流覆蓋的沙漠 07-02-2015)  Newly Released Ash in Red
(新近噴發的火山灰呈紅色 07-02-2015)  Volcanic Ash (火山灰 07-02-2015)
 A Height of 〜3,300 Meters/10,827 Feet & a Circular Base of over a Hundred Km
(高約3,300米/10,827英尺、長達100多公里的圓形底座 07-02-2015)  Largest & Highest Active Volcano in Europe
(歐洲最大最高的活火山 07-02-2015)
 Volcano Cone (火山錐 07-02-2015)
 Volcano Cone (火山錐)
 Lava Tubing (熔岩管)
 Vegetation (植被 07-02-2015)
 Mount Etna Broom (金雀花)
 Flora (植物群 07-02-2015)
 Sicilian Soapwort(西西里島皂草)
 一品紅、金雀花枝、聖刺、酸模
 Zafferana Etnea, the Gateway to Etna
(埃特納火山的藏紅花·通往埃特納火山的門戶) Crosslinks(相關博文):
Bartolome Island, Ecuador(厄瓜多爾巴托洛梅島) Italy(出遊意大利) Europe(歐洲掠影) 6th Grade(初中一年級)
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