Vesuvius
Synonyms
Somma-Vesuvius
Introduction
Vesuvius is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last 100 years, although it has currently been inactive for more than half a century. The volcano is best known for its catastrophic 79 AD eruption, during which a number of Roman settlements and buildings, including Pompeii and Herculaneum, were buried in ash and pumice. Since its discovery in 1748, excavations at Pompeii have provided a unique view of a first century Roman town frozen in time.
Europe’s most dangerous volcano
Vesuvius (40.821°N 14.426°E) is located on the Bay of Naples, directly to the southeast of the city of Naples in the Italian province of Campania. It is a 1,281-m high composite or stratovolcano, constructed from the products of both explosive (ash and pumice) and effusive (lava flows) eruptions. Vesuvius is also the type example of a Sommavolcano, in which the active center is built up within a caldera resulting from the collapse of an earlier...
Bibliography
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