Catania 45,081 85,055 Aci Reale 14,094 24,151 Giarre 13,705 17,965 Paternò 9,808 16,512 Aderno 6,623 15,657 Bronte 9,153 15,081 Biancavilla 5,870 13,261 Linguaglossa 2,415 9,120 Randazzo 4,700 8,378 Piedimonte Etnea 1,404 4,924 Zaffarana Etnea 700 3,884 Pedara 2,068 3,181 Trecastagni 2,406 3,061 [15] I am indebted for these figures to Mr. George Dennis, H.M. Consul General for Sicily. The general aspect of Etna is that of a pretty regular cone, covered with vegetation, except near the summit. The regularity is broken on the East side by a slightly oval valley, four or five miles in diameter, called the _Val del Bove_, or in the language of the district Val del _Bue_. This commences about two miles from the summit, and is bounded on three sides by nearly vertical precipices from 3,000 to 4,000 feet in height. The bottom of the valley is covered with lavas of various date, and several minor craters have from time to time been upraised from it. Many eruptions have commenced in the immediate neighbourhood of the Val del Bove, and Lyell believes that there formerly existed a centre of permanent eruption in the valley. The Val del Bove is altogether sterile; but the mountain at the same level is, on other sides, clothed with trees. The vast mass of the mountain is realised by the fact that, after twelve miles of the ascent from Catania, the summit looks as far off as it did at starting. Moreover, Mount Vesuvius might be almost hidden away in the Val del Bove. A remarkable feature of Etna is the large number of minor craters which are scattered over its sides. They look small in comparison with the great mass of the mountain, but in reality some of them are of large dimensions. Monte Minardo, near Bronte, the largest of these minor cones, is still 750 feet high, although its base has been raised by modern lava-streams which have flowed around it. There are 80 of the more conspicuous of these minor cones, but Von Waltershausen has mapped no less than 200 within a ten mile radius from the great crater, while neglecting many monticules of ashes. As to the statement made by Reclus to the effect that there are 700 minor cones, and by Jukes, that the number is 600, it is to be supposed that they include not only the most insignificant monticules and heaps of cinders, but also the _bocche_ and _boccarelle_ from which at any time lava or fire has issued. If these be included, no doubt these numbers are not exaggerations. [Illustration: Grotto delle Palombe]