Introduction:
Mount Vesuvius is one of history’s most recognizable Volcanoes, as each of its eruptions have gone down as a significant event in geologic history. The events that transpired during and after these eruptions have shaped the way scientists and people view the sheer power that these volcanoes possessed. This report will take a look at Vesuvius’ most prolific eruption in 79 AD. The geologic setting of the mountain, precursor activity, and the impact the eruption had on the surrounding populations and towns will all be detailed. Along with these details, this report will also look at the further history of Vesuvius’s explosive past by detailing its eruption cycle. Finally, the current state of Vesuvius and the possible danger
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(BBC)
As the eruption wore on, it later produced a phase with red hot pyroclastic surges and flows, along with other volcanic material. This was referred to as the “Peléan” phase. These type of eruptions are known for the mentioned pyroclastic flows, along with hot mud surges. (Universe today) This phase was speculated to have begun during the latter part of the eruption, and is largely regarded as the main killer of most of the surrounding inhabitants. (Museum timeline)
2. Intial warning signs:
The signs of an impending eruption began to appear long before it actually occurred, the first major sign being earthquakes. Earthquakes are a common indicator of the possibility of rising magma, which is required to occur for a volcano to erupt. These Earthquakes were reportedly occurring as far back as 62 AD, as they continued sporadically all throughout the 17 year period leading up to the eruption. (History of Pompeii book) One such quake caught the attention of the residents of the region when it occurred in 63 AD. The quake was large and rocked the nearby towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum, doing extensive damage that would take years to repair. Due to the limited knowledge of geology at this time, Roman scholars were unable to make the connection between the earthquakes and the possible peril of a Mount Vesuvius eruption.(BBC) Some even argue that the people didn’t even know Vesuvius was a volcano. (Pompeii unplugged)
It was the summer of 2015, and this was an usual summer; hot and humid. Me being a college student at Emory University and working at Six Flags I was always busy. Today was one of those days. I have to clock in at Six Flags at 6:00 pm, and then be on time for finals at 8:00 pm.
On August 24th in 79 AD at approximately 1300 a cloud appeared over the Roman city of Pompeii. This was all the warning the residents had before the nearby volcano, Mount Vesuvius, erupted. Huge quantities of scalding hot ash, pumice and lava pebbles were thrown into the sky. This then cascaded down across an extensive area. Pompeii was buried under 14 to 17 feet of ash and pumice, and the nearby seacoast was drastically changed. Herculaneum was buried under more than 60 feet of mud and volcanic material. Some residents of Pompeii later returned to dig out their destroyed homes and salvage their valuables, but many treasures were left and then forgotten. The remains of 2,000 men, women, and children were found at Pompeii. After perishing
In the year 79 A.D. the volcano, Mount Vesuvius, had its’s most famous eruption when it buried the ancient Roman city of Pompeii along with the small neighbouring towns of Stabiae and Herculaneum. The eruption killed two thousand people and left the city buried under millions of tons of volcanic ash. Pompeii was rediscovered again in 1748, by a group of explorers after it laid under a layer of volcanic ash since the explosion. Underneath a thick layer of dust and debris the city was mostly intact. The skeletons, buildings, and artifacts have allowed archeologists to discover a great deal about the ancient world.
Over 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius chose the city of Pompeii to be its next victim. August 79 A.D was the fateful day that would destroy thousands of lives, and their beloved homes. When Mount Vesuvius erupted it sent ashes, rocks, and volcanic gases to rain over Pompeii and cause complete chaos. After Mount Vesuvius’ first attack on Pompeii, a tower of debris drifted to earth. Buildings collapsed and ash clogged the air. Then a surge of poison gas and rock poured down the side of the mountain, destroying everything that laid in its path. Pompeii was done for.
In the geological world, Mount Vesuvius’ eruption, and consequently the destruction of Pompeii, is one of the most discussed and debated of history. Pompeii was a large Roman town, which was located on the island of Campania. Pompeii is no longer the same as it used to be. Pompeii was a normal town until 79 CE. On this day Mt. Vesuvius erupted and covered the town in ash. Some people believed the universe was being resolved into fire. The ash filled in the air, seas, and land. Ash fell into ships, the closer the ship’s went, the darker and denser.
This is not true, for Vesuvius is one of the smallest active volcanoes in the world (Barnes, 42). In fact, the eruption in 79 was not even Mount Vesuvius’s most colossal eruption. Vesuvius was an active volcano both before and after it demolished Pompeii. There have been over 70 eruptions in the last 17,000 years, notably altering the recovery of the historical site (Brilliant, 31). Eight of these major eruptions are alleged as even more severe than the one that demolished the Pompeii. The reason that the 79 AD eruption is acknowledged so highly is the fact that it created a natural time-capsule of the Roman Empire, allowing archaeologists a glimpse into the
The volcano is actually a volcano inside of a volcano. When scientists studied the structure they pointed out its two different cone shaped tops spread about three miles long of a valley in between. They then stated that it was two volcanoes one inside the other in some geographic way. The eruption in 79AD was the first recorded eruption for history. Mount Vesuvius is in the Campanian volcanic arc along with Vulcan and some others
On February fifth, A.D. 62, Pompeii was struck by a violent and destructive earthquake which caused devastating damage, which was equivalent towards the eighth-magnitude of the Mercalli Scale. The earthquake was quite impactful and forceful, what with Pompeii being the epicentre, allowing it to become more susceptible to devastation and heavy damage. Vesuvius was also damaged from this earthquake, the summit snapped off, reshaping Vesuvius’s top. Vesuvius was now awakening from hibernation of one-thousand years, it would soon wipe out entire cities and bury the city of Pompeii in ash.
Mount Vesuvius near Pompeii, Italy, begins to erupt on this day in the year August 24, 79 ad; within the next 25 hours, it wipes out the entire town. Hundreds of years later, archaeologists excavated Pompeii and found everything and everyone that had been there that day perfectly preserved by the volcano’s ash. The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. There was even a detailed account of the disaster by Pliny the younger who wrote a letter to his friend Tacitus. He said, “Elsewhere there was daylight at this time, but they were still in darkness, blacker and denser than any ordinary night, which they relieved by lighting torches and various kinds
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD was a pyroclastic event discussed in greater detail over the course of this essay.
Since Mount Vesuvius is so old, it has a long history of eruptions. The first known eruption was in 5960
Mt. Vesuvius gave Pompeii a “warning” earthquake in 62 AD (Goor 8). In 79 AD, a loud bang warned the city that Vesuvius was about to explode (Cartwright par.12). The explosion covered over 200 square miles, including not only Pompeii, but a couple other towns (List25). The eruption lasted about a day, but the ash, rocks, and pumice blanketed the city for about two days. Pompeii was buried about twenty feet deep (List25). After the eruption, some people tried to dig to their homes (Goor 13). The eruption was one day after the festival of the Roman god of fire (List25).
On that day Mount Vesuvius exploded covering a town of twenty thousand citizens in thirty feet of volcanic ash. Citizens did not expect the eruption because seismic was common. Mount Vesuvius is a Stratovolcano. Stratovolcanoes get taller overtime because of layers of dried lava. The immense heat mixed with gasses cause a lot of pressure which leads to the top blowing off letting out a burst of lava. Most of the people in Pompeii didn't die from the lava or ash, they died from heat. It was extremely hot because of the explosion so it burned people's lungs. After they were dead the hot ash covered the city preserving the city and its population for hundreds of years. (http://www.livescience.com, Mary Bagley, 27 March,
Located in southern Italy, the city of Pompeii suffered from one of the most devastating disasters of all time. On August 24, 79 AD, a volcano, known as Mt. Vesuvius, erupted and struck the entire city of Pompeii. As a result, many citizens of Pompeii suffocated to death from the ash and the entire city was left dry and still. The volcanic eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and the aftermath it left on the city of Pompeii left a positive influence on my academic upbringing.
Would you want to be in the city of pompeii or mt. st. helens, when the volcanos erupted? Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980, and vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D. They were both the same kind of volcano, stratovolcano. The Volcano’s both spewed ash, and pumice. The cities could feel the tremors the “Mountains” were causing. The Volcano’ s caused huge eruptions, that buried homes, and the whole city.