Go Ahead Tours’ Associate Marketing Manager, Ryan Gervais, recently traveled to Rome, Sorrento and Sicily. While in Sicily, he opted for the excursion to Mt. Etna, the world’s tallest active volcano, and found out the science behind the interesting color variations in the snow.
“While climbing to a height of over 6,000 feet on our optional excursion to Mt. Etna (the tallest active volcano in Europe), our group began noticing a red tint to the snow covering the volcano. After a few minutes of curious speculating, our group could not wait another minute to ask our local guide, Elfi, about the red, clay-like snow. Elfi explained that the red color was from actual sand from the Sahara Desert in Africa that had been carried over by the jet stream. Our entire bus sat silent for a minute or two. Then, there were a lot of whispers amongst travelers saying, ‘No way—from the Sahara Desert?’”
