Mount Vesuvius, A Look at a Sleeping Giant, The Eruption of 79 AD

It has been my privilege to travel to many interesting places in this world.  My first trip abroad was to Italy and it included a fleeting glimpse of the culprit of one of the most flagrant geological events in history, Mount Vesuvius and the eruption of 79 AD. Even today, I remember the respect for nature that enveloped me as I gazed upon this beautiful, powerful and incredibly dangerous volcano.

That day, I was scheduled to visit Capri, yet another awe-inspiring destination. The trip was filled with wonders the likes of the Blue Grotto and the ruins of the Villas of Tiberius. The sites of interest on this island cannot be properly described and we didn’t have anywhere near the time to discover all that Capri had to offer. We were on a day trip from Rome and scheduled for the tourist highlights. To say the highlights were spectacular would be an understatement.  I would love to go back and experience Capri in total. It was beyond belief beautiful!

I must admit that even though I visited a paradise that day, I had a bit of frustration at not being able to take in the archeological digs at Pompeii and Herculaneum. Not to mention the Phlegraean Fields with its geological and archeological wonders. One visit to Campania will never be able to cover all it has to offer, unless of course the visit is close to a lifetime.

Temple of Serapis, part of an ancient Roman marketplace located near Pozzuoli, Italy. This temple, in an area known as Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) shows aspects of Bradyseism, a gradual uplift or descent of the earth surface. 

Mount Vesuvius is a stratovolcano also known as a composite volcano, which means it has a large and steep cone and is built up of alternating layers of lava, tephra, pumice and volcanic ash.  It is capable of both lava and pyroclastic flows and can produce Plinian eruptions. It is located at the convergent boundary where the African tectonic plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian tectonic plate. It is the only active volcano on the European mainland. 

Formed within a much larger ancient and extinct volcano known as Mount Somma which collapsed approximately seventeen thousand years ago, Mount Vesuvius is considered to be very much active. Known as Somma-Vesuvius, this geological wonder became part of Italy's national park system in 1995.

Painting of Mount Vesuvius from 1858

The 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius was Plinian in nature, named after Pliny the Younger, an author and magistrate. His uncle, Pliny the Elder perished in the eruption while attempting a rescue mission to Stabiae. Pliny the Younger viewed the entire destruction from Misenum.  His writings on the events that took place during the eruption and the accurate description he supplied of the actual volcanic blast earned him the distinction of having the explosive type of volcanic activity named after him. Plinian eruptions, like Mount St. Helens in 1980, produce a huge explosion of gas and pumice that rises high into the stratosphere. As Pliny described in his letter to Cornelius Tacitus:

'Its general appearance can best be expressed as being like an umbrella pine, for it rose to a great height on a sort of trunk and then split off into branches.' 

This type of volcanic activity often produces pyroclastic flows and surges, which allows gas and rock to flow at extreme speeds. The effects are fast and disastrous. The people of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae had practically no chance to run from its wrath.   

View of Vesuvius from the ruins of ancient Pompeii

Next week's post will continue the story of Mount Vesuvius!

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