Strombolicchio () is a

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorphology. ...

volcanic A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates a ...

origin to the northeast of the island of

Stromboli Stromboli ( , ; scn, Struògnuli ) is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast of Sicily, containing Mount Stromboli, one of the four active volcanoes in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc north of Sici ...

in the

Aeolian Islands The Aeolian Islands ( ; it, Isole Eolie ; scn, Ìsuli Eoli), sometimes referred to as the Lipari Islands or Lipari group ( , ) after their largest island, are a volcanic archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea north of Sicily, said to be named after ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. Its name in the

Sicilian language Sicilian ( scn, sicilianu, link=no, ; it, siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. A variant, ''Calabro-Sicilian'', is spoken in southern Calabria, where it is called Southern Calabro ...

, ''Struognulicchiu,'' means ''Little Stromboli''.

Geology

Geologically, Strombolicchio is a

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcanic object created when magma hardens within a vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if rising volatile-charged mag ...

or spine of extremely hard compacted

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

resistant to

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

, and is the remnant of the original volcano from which the island of Stromboli was built up. Eruptions at this site ceased approximately 200,000 years ago. Since then the volcanic activity has moved about to the southwest. It is the only remnant above sea level of an otherwise submarine platform that extends between it and the main island.

Flora and fauna

Strombolicchio hosts some very rare species of flora and fauna and has been declared a natural reserve, with severe restrictions on access. '' Bassia saxicola'', for example, an endangered flower at risk of extinction, is otherwise present in only a few hundred specimens on the island of

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

. '' Podarcis raffonei'', a rare lizard classified as at critical risk of extinction, is found at only three other locations, all of which are in the Aeolian Islands: a small islet off the coast of the nearby island of Salina, another islet off the coast of

Filicudi Filicudi () is one of seven islands that make up the Aeolian archipelago, situated northeast of the island of Sicily, southern Italy. It is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Lipari. Geography Its total area is . There are several small vill ...

, and in some areas of

Vulcano Vulcano ( scn, Vurcanu) or Vulcan is a small volcanic island belonging to Italy in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about north of Sicily and located at the southernmost end of the seven Aeolian Islands. The island is known for its volcanic activity and c ...

Strombolicchio lighthouse

Strombolicchio Lighthouse, located on its summit, can be reached by a concrete stairway of over 200 steps.

References

Notes

Aeolian Islands Volcanoes of Italy Volcanic plugs of Italy Stacks (geology) Stromboli {{Sicily-geo-stub