Volcanic Bombs of the Sartorius Craters

The birches of Etna (birch aetnensis) is an arboreal plant endemic to Sicily present spontaneously only in the Etna area, on the north, north-east and north-west slopes of the volcano, at altitudes between 1450 and 2000 meters. Its presence on the island is due to the effects that the last glaciation (Wurm - 70,000 / 10,000 years ago) produced on Sicilian habitats. Finding itself in conditions of extremely low temperatures, the birch was able to widen its distribution range "descending" from the high latitudes of Northern Europe, to lower latitudes and also arriving in different areas of Sicily. At the end of the glaciation, about 10,000 years ago, the rise in temperature confined the birch to the Etna area alone, as there were no favorable climatic conditions in other Sicilian areas. Over time, the birch has adapted to the climate and volcanic soil and has evolved to become endemic and a symbol of an entire territory. An area of particular interest for the observation of this unique tree species is that around the Sartorius Mountains, a complex of "buttonhole" craters in the northeastern part of the volcano. (myetnamap.it/betulla-delletna/)

These bombs were not thrown from the current crater, but came from the Sartorius craters.