Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the city of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large population of the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the slopes nearby.
The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate.
Under Vesuvius, scientists have detected a tear in the African plate. This “slab window” allows heat from the Earth’s mantle layer to melt the rock of the African plate building up pressure that causes violent explosive eruptions. In the past, Mount
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Vesuvius has had a roughly 20-year eruption cycle, but the last serious eruption was in 1944. Vesuvius and Pompeii Mount Vesuvius destroyed the city of Pompeii in A.D.
79. Because the city was buried so quickly by volcanic ash, the site is a well-preserved snapshot of life in a Roman city. We even have a detailed account of the disaster recorded by Pliny the Younger, who interviewed survivors and recorded events in a letter to his friend Tacitus. HerculaneumPin It Ruins at Herculaneum
Pompeii was slowly recovering from a major earthquake that rocked the city in February of A.D. 62. The shallow quake, originating beneath Mount Vesuvius, had caused major damage to the springs and piping that provided the city’s water. Reconstruction was being carried out on several temples and public buildings. The historian, Seneca, recorded that the quakes lasted for several days and also heavily damaged the town of Herculaneum and did minor damage to the city of Naples before subsiding. The major quake was followed by several minor shakes throughout the following years. [Image Gallery: Pompeii's
Toilets] Because seismic activity was so common in the area, citizens paid little attention in early August of 79 when several quakes shook the earth beneath Herculaneum and Pompeii. People were unprepared for the explosion that took place shortly after noon on the 24th of August. Pliny, watching from the town of Misenum, approximately 13 miles (21 kilometers) from Pompeii, described the massive debris cloud. “It resembled a (Mediterranean) pine more than any other tree. Like a very high tree the cloud went high and expanded in different branches…. sometimes white, sometimes dark and stained by the sustained sand and ashes.” In Pompeii, ash blocked the sun by 1 p.m. and the people tried to clear heavy ash from rooftops as it fell at a rate of about 6 inches (15 centimeters) an hour. [Image Gallery: Preserved Pompeii — Photos Reveal City in Ash] Pompeii, Mount VesuviusPin It Bodies preserved in ash at Pompeii. Shortly after midnight, a wall of volcanic mud engulfed the town of Herculaneum, obliterating the town as its citizens fled toward Pompeii. About 6:30 a.m. on the following morning, a glowing cloud of volcanic gases and debris rolled down Vesuvius’ slopes and enveloped the city of Pompeii. Most victims died instantly as the superheated air burned their lungs and contracted their muscles, leaving the bodies in a semi-curled position to be quickly buried in ash and thus preserved in detail for hundreds of years. Far away in Misenum, Pliny the Younger and his mother joined other refugees escaping the earthquakes rocking their city. They observed, “…the sea retreating as if pushed by the earthquakes.” This was probably caused by a tsunami at the climax of the eruption, which gives us the time frame for historical record. Pliny writes of “black and horrible clouds, broken by sinuous shapes of flaming wind.” He describes people wheezing and gasping because of that wind; the same wind that doomed the people of Pompeii. WWII eruption On March 18, 1944, a two-week-long eruption began with lava from the summit of Mount Vesuvius. Soldiers and airmen of the 340th Bomber Group were stationed at the Pompeii Airfield just a few miles from the base of the volcano. Diaries record the awesome sights and sounds they witnessed in this latest major eruption. Guards wore leather jackets and “steel pot” helmets to protect themselves from rains of hot ash and small rocks. Tents collapsed or caught fire when hot cinders were blown over them. On March 22, they were forced to evacuate, leaving behind 88 Allied aircraft. After the volcano subsided, they returned on the 30th to find the planes were a total loss. Engines were clogged by ash, control panels were useless tangles of fused wire, canopies had holes from flying rock or were etched to opacity by wind driven ash. One airman of the 489th Bomber Squadron complained in his diary when Axis Sally broadcast a radio show dedicated to the “survivors” of the Vesuvius eruption (actually the most severe human casualty was a wrist sprained during the evacuation). She told all of Europe that “Colonel Vesuvius” had destroyed all of them. The diarist was justifiably proud of the work he did with his fellows in recovery. By April 15, the planes had been replaced and the 340th Bomber Group was back to full strength and ready to fly missions from their new base. “We are still the best damned Group there is. Hitler, you self styled ‘Great Rebuilder’ take note!” Current status Since 1944, there have been hundreds of minor earthquakes in the region around Mount Vesuvius. The most serious earthquake rocked Naples in October 1999. The magnitude-3.6 quake was felt as far as 15 miles (24 km) from the base of the volcano and was of the same magnitude as a quake that occurred 17 years prior to the last truly major explosion that devastated Naples in 1631. Teresa bradshaw 2nd hour December 16 , 2015 Mr. hooker
Sebastian Pether’s piece of work called The Eruption of Vesuvius (1835) combines the silver watery reflection of the moon with the hot red molten lava that is flowing down its mountainsides. Though during Pether’s generation he wasn’t the only one to paint the well-known Mount Vesuvius, Joseph Wright of Derby also painted 30 paintings of the volcano. This art piece is currently located at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. The piece is oil media on panel that is framed with a beautifully designed border, where it is hanging on a wall in the one of the rooms, with a one-dimension view. The quality of the piece owes itself to the color and lighting, which captures your immediate attention and guides the viewer through the piece.
Mount Vesuvius or Somma-Vesuvius, is located in the Province of Naples in Western Italy. It is part of an area known as the Campainian volcanic arc, which is a chain of volcanoes that formed over a subduction zone. (Geology.com) Subduction zones are regions in the Earth’s crust where two plates, in this case, the African and Eurasian plates converge and push one another. This push forces the lighter plate further into the Earth’s bowels, leading to that rock melting under higher pressure and temperatures, thus forming Magma. This Magma rises to the surface, forming volcanoes such as Vesuvius and it’s counterparts along the Campanian arc. (USGS Earthquake glossary).
Politics in Pompeii and Herculaneum was an essential and important aspect of life. Politics enabled the towns to run successfully and smoothly. There were elections held for politicians, which included the election of two Duumviri and two pairs of Aediles. The comitum, which was made up of roman males who were over the age of 25, voted for who they believed should be the next Aediles and Duumviri. People who were running for the positions or people who wanted someone they liked to be elected would leave messages everywhere to promote and advocate them in hopes for them to be elected. There were over 2000 electoral notices found in Pompeii. This can be shown in source B which is the programmata from the House of Loreius Tiburtinus, Pompeii.
On the afternoon of 24th August 79 AD, a volcano called Mt. Vesuvius erupted, which resulted in destroyed lives of citizens, it was estimated that there were 10 to 12 thousand people who occupied the city .The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and a few others were severely affected by the eruption. The cities are well known for its beautiful landscapes and its temperate climate.Pompeii is based in the south, close to Naples in the region of Campania in Italy.The eruption started a series of events such as pumice,rocks and ashes falling down and caused hot volcanic gases to rise high in the sky, people from around 100 miles away could see the event unfolding.The remains of Pompeii and other cities was frozen in time due to the pyroclastic surges
Mount Saint Helens and Mount Vesuvius are volcanoes that have erupted they are both different and also the same here are some facts, similarities and differences of both the volcanoes.
When the plates mash together on a convergent boundary, they can create an earthquake. A place with a convergent boundary is New Zealand. When the plates pull apart, a divergent boundary, they create a hole in the ocean that causes molten lava to rush up and it causes a volcano to form. A place with a divergent boundary is Iceland. With about 130 volcanoes all together, it has the most volcanoes of any country in the world and is on two tectonic plates. Santorini is currently in an area of earth where the African and Eurasian plate meet, and Atlantis disappeared with a rumble that could have come from a volcano or an
The rest of this article spends time speculating through the advances in technology and the reanalyzation of old evidence to determine various cataclysmic events that happened millions of years ago. There are many sections in this article that discuss the methods used to determine the closet possible dates and the sequence in which they follow. There are also sections in this article which discuss methods used for the evidence of impact, eruption and how reading the environmental changes can help paleontologists determine conclusions and narrow the perspectives of paleontologists (scientists) and popular culture as a whole.
Magmas in island arc settings consist primarily of components from two different origins, the slab component, and the mantle wedge. The mantle wedge may melt due the descent of the slab, giving the main portion of the non-slab component. The slab component is derived from the subducting slab as it descends. This may consist of melting of the crustal portion of the slab, but also melting of the mantle wedge due to addition of water driven off the slab. Since the descending slab is composed of old, cold oceanic crust, there is a slight paradox in the idea of melts forming from it. However, frictional heat, as well as the heat of the underlying mantle, can drive hydrous fluids off the slab. (Machado, Chemale Jr., Conceição, Kawashita, Morata, and Van Schmus, 2003; Kimura and Yoshida, 2006).The addition of water to the mantle wedge results in the lowering of melting temperatures, allowing melts to be formed at much lower temperatures than might otherwise be expected. Also, the circulation of hot fluids allows materials dissolved in them to migrate upwards ...
Mount Vesuvius is located in the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. Its Latitude and Longitude is 40.8224° N, 14.4289° E. It is a stratovolcano and has a height of 1277 meters (1490 feet) and base of 48 kilometers (30 miles). Mount Vesuvius has erupted over 30 times and has a repose time that can last for months or even years between eruptions. Its eruptions are explosive and is dominated by pyroclastic flows. The eruption materials are usually an ash cloud with lightening that spews out dense ash falls. The lava can shoot up to 4km into the air. The most famous eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius were in 79 A.D. which destroyed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The cities were covered in 20 feet of volcanic debris. The estimated death toll was over 1000 people. The
From modern examples and records we know that volcanic activity can set of a chai...
Volcanoes. The naturally forming landforms that can look remarkably beautiful. Gentle slopes, or high rising heights with snow caps and greenery that seems to attract many tourists and sightseers around the world. These magnificent landforms can also cause major destruction and can produce forces that can explode, burn, and create a great deal of damage. Two of these extravagant wonders of the world is the Mount Saint Helens composite volcano in Washington, US, and the Mauna Loa shield volcano in Hawaii, US. These landforms have a eruption history of many colors. One has a great power in eruption, but another has a eruption that is quiet and gentle. In comparing these two volcanoes there are many likes, and dislikes, to consider. So the following
This is thought to reflect the lack of pre-existing faults from previous calderas in the location where the new caldera formed at Katmai”(Klemetti 2012). Earthquakes triggered by volcanoes are not very uncommon, but due to the scale of Novarupta, the numerous earthquakes triggered were also at a proportionally large scale.
Nearly two millenniums ago a massive eruption rocked the Roman city of Pompeii, destroying buildings and coating the town in deep layers of volcanic ash. Fortunately, this same ash served as a tool for preservation and has allowed archaeologists to discover the remains of various types of Pompeii’s art. The values, beliefs, and daily workings of Roman culture have been brought to new light through the paintings, mosaics, statues and other forms of art found in the lost city of Pompeii.
Named for the Roman god Vulcan, volcanoes have both intrigued and frightened mankind for centuries. Human-like footprints dating back 300,000 years have been found in the solidified lava of Roccamonfina volcano in Italy (Onion, 2013). These footprints, called the "Devil's Trail" appear to indicate that these ancestors were escaping an eruption. In Turkey, a 9,000 year old painting depicting a volcanic eruption was discovered in 1964 during an excavation of Catalhyuk (Oskin, B., 2012). Perhaps one of the most famous written accounts of a volcanic eruption was written in 79 A.D. when Pliny the Younger wrote of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.
Mount Vesuvius is a volcano located in southern Italy, near the bay of Naples and the city of Naples. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Vesuvius rises to a height of 1277 m (4190 ft). Vesuvio (Vesuvius) is probably the most famous volcano on earth, and is one of the most dangerous.