Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius is located 9 miles away from Napoli (Naples), Italy. Vesuvius is part of the Campanian Volcanic Arc and is a stratovolcano. Its elevation is 4,203 ft and its diameter is 600 yds (or 600 m).

Its most famous eruption was on August 24th, 79AD which destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum. The most recent eruption was in 1944 during WWII. It is currently quiet, with only minor earthquake activity, but is overdue for a massive eruption.

Mount Vesuvius was formed over subduction zone created by the convergence of the African and Eurasian plates.

Currently the closest city to Mount Vesuvius is Napoli, Italy with a population of about 950,000. It brings danger to the people of Napoli since an explosion could send burning ash and pumice, and wipe out the entire city.

FUN FACTS:

• Mount Vesuvius's eruption in 79 AD killed about 13,000 people.
• It has been growing in the caldera of the Mount Somma Volcano.
• It has erupted about 50 times during the last 200 years.
• More people live closer to this volcano than to any other volcano in the world.

Fun Facts:
- The ash fall mixed with water created plaster casts of the victims in the Pompeii eruption and are still preserved today.
-The eruption completely buried Pompeii and it wasn't discovered until 1525 by archaeologists.

Untitled Slide

SOURCE PAGE

• geology.com
• planetware.com
• www1.american.edu
• primaryfacts.com