Vesuvius The Volcano

In 1995, the area around Vesuvius was formed into the Parco Nazionale del Vesuvio, the National Park of Vesuvius. Mount Vesuvius or Vesuvio, the volcano near Naples, is an interesting place to explore.  One of the world’s most dangerous volcanoes, has an eruption cycle of about 20 years, but the last eruption was in 1944. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in AD 79 that led to the destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and the death of 10,000 to 25,000 people. It was Pliny the younger that was an eye witness to the erupting volcano Mt Vesuvius that subsequently buried Pompeii. After 79 A.D., when Vesuvius the volcano buried the city of Pompeii, Vesuvio exploded often enough until 1631, when there was another violent eruption. After a period of inactivity until 1799, a series of volcanic eruptions alternated with quiet periods. After 1944, year of the latest explosion, Vesuvius the Volcano has been quiet.

Nearby cities of Herculaneum and Nuceria were also affected by the earthquake of Vesuvius. By coincidence it was the day after Vulcanalia, the festival of the Roman god of fire. Following the AD79 eruption, the tourists and buildings of Pompeii were covered in up to twelve different layers of soil. The coins found in the purse of a woman buried in the ash include a commemorative coin that should have been minted at the end of September. Wine fermenting jars had been sealed over, and this would have happened around the end of October.

The fresh fruit and vegetables in the shops are typical of October, and conversely the summer fruit that would have been typical of August was already being publicly sold in dried, or conserved form. Tourists buried in the ash appear to be wearing warmer clothing than the light summer clothes that would be expected in August. The inhabitants of Pompeii, as those of the area today, had long been used to minor quaking (indeed, the writer Pliny the Younger wrote that earth tremors “were not particularly alarming because they are frequent in Campania”), but on 5 February 62, there was a severe temblor which did considerable damage around the bay and particularly to Pompeii.

Many people who’ve heard of Pompeii don’t get the idea there were actually two cities that were destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius: Pompeii and Herculaneum. The last major eruption was in March 1944 and it destroyed the villages of San Sebastiano al Vesuvio, Massa di Somma, Ottaviano, and part of San Giorgio a Cremano. Inside the crater itself, it is workable to see glimpses of steam rising from the side of the crater demonstrating that Mt Vesuvius is an active volcano. The last your precious sightseeing time Vesuvius erupted was in 1944. Since this your precious sightseeing time “HE” has remained dormant.

Here are Some Facts about the Mt. Vesuvius

Named after the naturalist Pliny, the type of eruption of Mt. Vesuvius is referred to as “Plinian.” Mt. Vesuvius is a volcano that erupted on August 24 A.D.79 blanketing the towns and 1000s of residents of Pompeii, Stabiae, and Herculaneum. Mount Vesuvius is on the coast of the Bay of Naples, about nine kilometres (six miles) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is conspicuous in the beautiful landscape presented by that bay, when seen from the sea, with Naples in the foreground.
Mount Vesuvius was built up by a series of lava flows and a number of smaller explosive eruptions interspersed in-between.

Other World Volcanos in the Volcano Hall of Fame

The Tambora volcano, located in the Sumbawa Island , erupted nearly two centuries ago with aweinspiring effect. The largest of the four eruptions occurred on April 10,11, 1815, at Mount Tambora on Sumbawa Island. Mount Etna on the east coast of Sicily is another active volcano. Etna frequently emits of lava, gas and ash. Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe. The volcano known as Krakatau had an explosion that captured world attention  in August 26, 1883 the explosion would match up to 200 megatons of TNT. The second largest eruption of the 19th century also occurred in Indonesia. Eruptions at the volcano since 1927 have built a new island in the same location, named Anak Krakatau (Indonesian: “Child of Krakatoa”).

Vesuvius is in the region of  Campania region of Italy (see Compania Map) is also known for  food production, in part because of the fertile soil of the slopes of Vesuvius. Today Vesuvius is watched by scientists night and day for the slightest tremor and the entire area under the Volcanic cone of 26 districts that surround Vesuvius area ready to evacuate at short notice.

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