Mt. Vesuvius Details
Mt. Vesuvius is an Italian volcano that erupted on August 24
A.D. 79 blanketing the towns and 1000s of residents of Pompeii,
Stabiae, and Herculaneum. Pompeii was buried 10' deep, while Herculaneum was
buried under 75' of ash. This volcanic eruption is the first to be described in
detail. The letter-writing Pliny the Younger was stationed about 18 mi. away in Misenum
from which vantage point he could see the eruption and feel the preceding
earthquakes. His uncle, the naturalistPliny the Elder, was in charge of area warships, but
he turned his fleet to rescuing residents and died.
Historical Importance:
In addition to Pliny's recording the sights and sounds of the first
volcano to be described in detail, the volcanic covering of Pompeii and
Herculaneum provided an amazing opportunity for future historians: The ash
preserved and protected a vibrant city against the elements until future
archaeologists unearthed this snapshot in time.
Eruptions:
Mt. Vesuvius had erupted before and
continued to erupt about once a century until about A.D. 1037, at which point
the volcano grew quiet for about 600 years. During this time, the area grew,
and when the volcano erupted in 1631, it killed about 4000 people. During the
rebuilding efforts, the ancient ruins of Pompeii were discovered on March 23,
1748. Today's population around Mt. Vesuvius is about 3 million, which is
potentially catastrophic in the area of such a dangerous "Plinian"
volcano.
Precursors and the Volcanic Eruption in
A.D. 79:
Prior to the eruption, there were
earthquakes, including a substantial one in A.D. 62 that Pompeii was still
recovering from in 79. There was another earthquake in 64, while Nero was performing in Naples.
Earthquakes were seen as facts of life. However, in 79, springs and wells dried
up, and in August, the earth cracked, the sea became turbulent, and the animals
showed signs that something was coming. When the eruption of the 24th of August
began, it looked like a pine tree in the sky, according to Pliny, spewing
noxious fumes, ash, smoke, mud, stones, and flames.
Type of Volcano:
Named after the naturalist Pliny, the type of eruption of
Mt. Vesuvius is referred to as "Plinian." In such an eruption a
column of various materials (called tephra) is ejected into the atmosphere,
creating what looks like a mushroom cloud (or, perhaps, pine tree). Mt.
Vesuvius' column is projected to have reached about 66,000' in height. Ash and
pumice spread by the winds rained for about 18 hours. Buildings started to
collapse and people began to escape. Then came high temperature, high velocity
gases and dust, and more seismic activity
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