Mount Vesuvius is known to be one of the most deadly volcanoes in the world. This volcano is known as a stratovolcano on the Gulf of Naples, in Italy. It is about 9 kilometers or 5.6 miles east of Naples. Mount Vesuvius is one of the many volcanoes that make up a line that is called the Campanian Volcanic Arc. Vesuvius has a cone shaped structure at the top which is surrounded by thicker land down below, which used to be steep, but is now flattened because of earlier eruptions.
The most destructive eruption that everyone knows about today, was the eruption in 79 A.D. This eruption destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The eruption made huge black clouds of rock, ash, and smoke along with deadly fumes. People were buried alive in tephra,(tephra are rock fragments and particles ejected from an eruption) from the ash cloud, and the molds of the people can still be seen today. The height of the pyroclastic flows went up to approximately 20.5 feet. The destruction level was 100,000 times worse then the bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An estimated 16,000 people were killed in this eruption due to hydrothermal pyroclastic flows. The volcano spewed hot molten rock and exploded out pumice at a rate of 1.5 million tons per second. The eruption lasted two whole days.
There was a powerful earthquake around 17 years before the Vesuvius eruption on February 5, 62 A.D. Then again in August 20, 79 A.D. there were frequent small tremors and earthquakes, becoming more frequent as the days went on. One day, there was an explosion from the volcano, throwing up ash, which blanketed all surrounding areas. During the night between early the next day, pyroclastic flows began. Fires started at the top of the volcano. These flows were accompanied by light tremors and a mild tsunami in the Bay of Naples. There was a cloud that collapsed which caused a pyroclastic surge, which hit Herculaneum, but not Pompeii.
By 2003, 1,044 casts had been made from where bodies once were. The remains of about 332 bodies have been found at Herculaneum. 38% of the bodies were found in ruined buildings. People who were on the sea shore, were hit by the first pyroclastic surge. This means that they died of thermal shock. The people in the buildings were either killed by the weight of the falling structure, or from the heat of the pyroclastic flows. The people who were elsewhere were buried alive from the hot ash. Today, the Vesuvius volcano, is now a national park in Italy. Vesuvius is now dormant, and while its unlikely to erupt in the near future, is continuously monitored by Italian authorities.
The most destructive eruption that everyone knows about today, was the eruption in 79 A.D. This eruption destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The eruption made huge black clouds of rock, ash, and smoke along with deadly fumes. People were buried alive in tephra,(tephra are rock fragments and particles ejected from an eruption) from the ash cloud, and the molds of the people can still be seen today. The height of the pyroclastic flows went up to approximately 20.5 feet. The destruction level was 100,000 times worse then the bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. An estimated 16,000 people were killed in this eruption due to hydrothermal pyroclastic flows. The volcano spewed hot molten rock and exploded out pumice at a rate of 1.5 million tons per second. The eruption lasted two whole days.
There was a powerful earthquake around 17 years before the Vesuvius eruption on February 5, 62 A.D. Then again in August 20, 79 A.D. there were frequent small tremors and earthquakes, becoming more frequent as the days went on. One day, there was an explosion from the volcano, throwing up ash, which blanketed all surrounding areas. During the night between early the next day, pyroclastic flows began. Fires started at the top of the volcano. These flows were accompanied by light tremors and a mild tsunami in the Bay of Naples. There was a cloud that collapsed which caused a pyroclastic surge, which hit Herculaneum, but not Pompeii.
By 2003, 1,044 casts had been made from where bodies once were. The remains of about 332 bodies have been found at Herculaneum. 38% of the bodies were found in ruined buildings. People who were on the sea shore, were hit by the first pyroclastic surge. This means that they died of thermal shock. The people in the buildings were either killed by the weight of the falling structure, or from the heat of the pyroclastic flows. The people who were elsewhere were buried alive from the hot ash. Today, the Vesuvius volcano, is now a national park in Italy. Vesuvius is now dormant, and while its unlikely to erupt in the near future, is continuously monitored by Italian authorities.