Linosa (Linosa Island), Pelagie Islands (Pelagian Islands), Agrigento Province, Sicily, Italyi

Regional Level Types
Linosa (Linosa Island)	Island
Pelagie Islands (Pelagian Islands)	Group of Islands
Agrigento Province	Province
Sicily	Autonomous Region
Italy	- not defined -

Linosa has a surface area of 5.43 square kilometres and is of volcanic origin. The closest land to Linosa is the island of Lampedusa, which lies 43 km to the south. Linosa is located 119 km west of Gozo (Malta), 121 km southeast of Pantelleria, 163 km south of Sicily and 165 km east of Cape Mahida (Tunisia). Until 1878, when the municipality of Lampedusa and Linosa was created, Linosa Island was included in Girgenti municipality.

Linosa is a small part (about 0.1%) of a large submarine volcanic complex, which has its base at 800 m below sea level. Estimated age of eruptive activity on the island ranges from 1.06±0.10 to 0.53±0.07 Ma. Linosa is currently the site of hydrothermal activity, on the land and in the sea. A series of craters form the subaerial part of this volcanic complex. The low and large maar-like depression, located in the centre of the island, called Fossa del Cappellano, is surrounded by three volcanic cones: Monte Vulcano (195 m) to the south, Monte Rosso (186 m) to the north, and Monte Nero (Monte di Ponente) (107 m) to the west. A small volcanic cone, sometimes called Monte Raneri (73 m) or “Canto del Cigno”, is situated to the east of Monte Nero. Remains of ancient eruptive centres are also observable at Monte Calcarella to the south-east, Monte Biancarella to the north, and Cala Pozzolana di Levante to the west.

Only few minerals from this remote island were mentioned by the first authors: olivine (Calcara, 1851; Jervis, 1881; Speciale, 1884), pyroxene (Calcara, 1851; Jervis, 1881), sanidine (Calcara, 1851; Jervis, 1881), ladradorite (Calcara, 1851) and horneblende (Speciale, 1884).

Pyroxene is referable to augite (Calcara, 1851; Washington, 1908; Bindi et al., 2002).

Unlike the other ubiquitous minerals, horneblende has been reported only at two spots: on the east coast near I Faraglioni, south of the lighthouse, and in a small parasitic cone of reddish scoria on Monte Rosso. The black crystals, collected in 1905 by H. S. Washington at the latter spot, turned out a highly titaniferous basaltic horneblende, closely related to kaersutite (Washington and Wright, 1908). Here, he also found white feldspar crystals; Whashington's analyses showed the felspar crystals to be deficient in silica, and he considered that they were solid solutions between anorthite, albite, and "carnegieite" and named them "anemousite" (Washington and Wright, 1910). Further studies lead Muir (1955) to conclude that "anemousite" is ascribable to high-temperature andesine (for detailed information on these two minerals, see Monte Rosso sublocality).

White crystalline gypsum in basalt vesicles at Monte Ponente (Monte Nero) has been described by Washington (1908).

Fossils

This region is too big or complex to display the fossil list, try looking at smaller subregions.

Localities in this Region

Other Regions, Features and Areas that Intersect

References