One might say that the Alcantara Gorges were born from the meeting of fire and water, but their story is worth telling in a little more detail. Around 300,000 years ago, during an eruption of Mount Etna – Europe’s highest active volcano, located in the province of Catania and visible for miles because of the plume rising from its summit – a lava flow reached the bed of the Alcantara River.
When the lava came into contact with the water, it cooled slowly and formed the distinctive basaltic rock found there today. This meeting of lava and water produced the unusual prismatic formations that make the gorges so recognizable.
