Mount Vesuvius

Eruption of 79AD
 WHAT IS IT?
Mount Vesuvius is
located just off the Gulf
of Naples in Italy. It was
created by the collision
of the African and
Eurasian plates. It is a
stratovolcano, which is a
volcano that is made up
of many layers of
hardened lava and ash.
These layers are known
as strata.
Leading up to the eruption in 79AD there were
significant earthquakes in 62AD and 64AD, with many
more in the four days before the eruption.
The eruption released 4km3 of ash and rock composed
of leucite and phonolite, covering the cities of Pompeii
and Herculaneum completely.
 PLINY THE YOUNGER
The following is a quote from Pliny the
Younger, an eyewitness to the eruption:
“I cannot give you a more exact
description of its appearance than by
comparing to a pine tree; for it shot up to
a great height in the form of a tall trunk,
which spread out at the top as though into
branches.”
 “PLINIAN”

From Pliny the Younger’s

description of this eruption
came the term “plinian.”
This refers to a particular
type of eruption
characterized by a large
column of gas and ash
being shot high into the
stratosphere. Plinian
eruptions are also
sometimes called “Vesuvius
eruptions.”
 STAGE ONE
The event took place in two stages, the
eruption and the flow. The eruption which is
now called a plinian eruption probably lasted
up to twenty hours. Pumice, a glassy sort of
lava, rained down, leaving deposits of up to
2.8 meters.
STAGE TWO
Deadly rock and hot gas combined to create the
second stage in the form of a pyroclastic flow.
Pyroclastic flows can travel as fast as 700km an
hour and reach temperatures of 1000°C.
REDISCOVERY
Although quite
forgotten, Pompeii
and Herculaneum
were very well
preserved because of
their ash covering. It
wasn’t until the
eighteenth century
that Pompeii was
rediscovered, and
then only by
accident.
 HUMAN REMAINS
Old buildings weren’t the only thing found
in Pompeii. A shocking 1,150 human
remains were also there. The falling ash,
as it hardened, formed a sort of cast,
which preserved the shape of bodies.
Often quite detailed, it is easy to see
exactly what these people had been doing
when they died.
 CASUALTIES

Although 1,150 casts were found in Pompeii,

it certainly did not represent all those who
died due to the eruption. It is believed that
about thirty-eight percent of those were
killed by large rocks or collapsed roofs, and
the other sixty-two percent likely died from
inhaling ash or from falling debris.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mount Vesuvius 79AD. (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved November 21,
2009, from File:Mt Vesuvius 79 AD eruption 3.svg:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mt_Vesuvius_79_AD_eruption_3.svg

Mount Vesuvius 79AD. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from
Mount Vesuvius: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vesuvius

Naples – Italy: 16th Port of Call – SUNSHINE ROUTE (n.d). Retrieved November
22, 2009 from: http://www.solarnavigator.net/geography/naples_italy.htm

Plinian Eruption. (n.d.). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved November 21, 2009,

from File: Plinian Eruption-blank.svg:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plinian_Eruption-blank.svg

Plinian Eruption. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 21, 2009, from Plinian
Eruption: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plinian_eruption

Stratovolcano. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from

Stratovolcano: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stratovolcano