In places where two bays - Golfo di S. Eufemia a Golfo di Gioia -
are link up you will find a cape Capo Vaticano.
This cape is a westmost rock part of wide peninsula on "Italia
shoe".
Researches of the INGV (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia) and the University of Calabria have announced that a
previously unknown volcanic mountain was detected in the Tyrrhenian
Sea, 120m below sea level off the coast of Calabria in the area
surrounding Capo Vaticano.
The volcano is situated on a tectonic fault zone, and is thought to
represent an extension to the east of the volcanic arc of the
Aeolian Islands, an interesting observation that maybe will have
important influence on the understanding of the general
configuration of plate margins in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The presence of submarine volcanoes is not unusual in the
surroundings of Italy and especially Sicily. In the canal of
Sicily, between the Italian island and the African coast, a number
of volcanic mountain ranges are know.
The island of Pantelleria for example is only one of the most
prominent and highest peaks in the region. In July 1831 a secondary
volcanic aperture of the main volcanic complex of "Empedocles"
(named after the Greek naturalist) erupted and reached sea level,
forming a cone up to 60m high. The property of the new formed
island soon became a dispute between France, who named it Julia,
England, who named it Graham, and Sicily, who named it Ferdinandea.
The controversy got resolved after 5 months, when the island was
completely eroded by the action of the waves. Today the peak of the
island lays 6m below sea level, after an increased tectonic
activity between 1980 and 2000 raised it by 2m. The weak, but
ongoing volcanic activity of Ferdinandea in 1987 fooled even the
crew of an American vessel, misinterpreting the rumours caused by
the volcano for a hostile submarine; they decided to bomb it...
The famous Venetian writer Giuseppe Berto made Capo Vaticano his
home, after travelling throughout the Italy. "Capo Vaticano", he
wrote, "is called Vatican as a Roman hill: once priests and fortune
tellers searched for the future basing their predictions on birds'
flights. 200 meters over the Cape there is a rock called Mantineo
and in ancient Greek it means: to communicate with God. The Cape
was a holy place and now it is the same".
To log this Earthcache following tasks should be fulfilled:
- Maximum altitude of the cape?
- From which type of mineral is this cape mostly formed?
- How many years ago were here an activity of a new unnamed
volcano detected by INGV?
- How many evident tops has a rock on the photo?
Optionally:
- I will be glad if you will enclose some picture to your
log
CZ:
- Odpovedi je možné zasílat i v ceštine