Nature · Dated summit-complex terrain · changing volcanic geometry
Mount Etna: terrain elevation and local relief
Mount Etna uses an approximately 3,324-meter surface estimate in EGM2008 from Copernicus GLO-30. The bounded terrain section has about 1,820 meters of local relief above its lowest sampled point. Published summit surveys are separate references.
≈ 3,324 m
Data-derived estimate- Measurement
- Highest sampled surface in the documented Copernicus terrain section · EGM2008
- Subject or version
- Dated summit-complex terrain · changing volcanic geometry
- In feet, rounded
- 10,904.8 ft (1 ft = 0.3048 m)
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Terrain boundary, base and datum
- Vertical reference
- EGM2008. Published surveys are separate; no datum conversion is applied.
- Highest sampled surface
- 3323.8 m at 37.755000°, 14.995278°.
- Local base
- 1503.8 m at 37.778333°, 14.930833°. Lowest sampled point within this bounded terrain section.
- Section bounds in WGS84-G1150
- West 14.930694°, east 15.055417°; south 37.719306°, north 37.782361°.
- View and scale
- Orthographic map section facing north. Equal horizontal and vertical map scales. Approximate grid spacing: 24.5 m east-west and 30.8 m north-south. Lower and surrounding terrain omitted.
produced using Copernicus WorldDEM-30 © DLR e.V. 2010-2014 and © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH 2014-2018 provided under COPERNICUS by the European Union and ESA; all rights reserved
A little more perspective
INGV’s September 17, 2024 bulletin reports a preliminary 3,403-meter maximum on Voragine’s eastern rim from September 12 drone observations, with about 1 meter of height-estimation error. The Smithsonian profile retains a separate 3,357-meter listing. This older Copernicus surface reaches approximately 3,324 meters in EGM2008 in the northern summit area. Etna’s growing and collapsing craters make the observation date essential; the image does not depict the September 2024 survey or today’s summit.
The local-relief view subtracts the lowest sampled point in this section: 1503.8 meters at 37.778333° latitude, 14.930833° longitude. This produces about 1,820 meters of relief within the stated boundary. It is not a universal mountain base, a route’s total ascent, or topographic prominence.
The rendered surface uses the public 2021 Copernicus release, primarily based on TanDEM-X observations from 2011–2015 with infill from other sources. It is a surface model rather than a current bare-earth survey. Neutral shading explains the geometry without claiming a snow season or photographic ground texture. No datum conversion or summit correction is applied.
Quick facts
Mount Etna uses an approximately 3,324-meter surface estimate in EGM2008 from Copernicus GLO-30. The bounded terrain section has about 1,820 meters of local relief above its lowest sampled point. Published summit surveys are separate references.
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Sources and measurement notes
- INGV: weekly Etna bulletin, September 17, 2024, section 9
- Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program: separate Etna elevation listing
- Copernicus DEM: dataset definition, datums and attribution
- Public Copernicus GLO-30 release documentation
- Wikidata: summit-area identity and initial coordinate
- Copernicus source terrain tile 1 (GeoTIFF)
- Copernicus source terrain tile 2 (GeoTIFF)
The approximately 3,324-meter dataset maximum, Smithsonian’s 3,357-meter listing and dated preliminary 3,403-meter Voragine survey are separate references.
Source review recorded . Maintained by Ishan Karunaratne. Suggest a correction with a source and the exact measurement being compared.