Mount Vesuvius

Jered Wheeler 3/16/2015

Almost one thousand nine hundred and thirty six years ago on august 24th 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted.

Mount Vesuvius is on the west coast of Italy in the province of Naples.

Mount Vesuvius is a part of the companian volcanic arcs that consists of active dormant and extinct volcanoes.

Mount Vesuvius is an active volcano that hasn't erupted in since 1944 next paragraph the most notorious eruption was the one that destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum on August 24th 79 AD.

The eruptions spewed, stone and fumes 20 miles skyward before it released molten rock and crushed pumice.

No one knows how many people actually died due to that catastrophic explosion. However the estimate is around 16,000 lives lost.

only two eye witness account exist. The accounts consists of two letters one wrote by Pliny the younger and the other by the historian Tacitus.

Mount Vesuvius violently erupted at around 1 p.m. The Ash fell covering the area. the next day pyroclastic flows ( fast-moving currents of hot gas and rock) begin. There were additional light tremors and even a mild tsunami in the Bay of Naples.

The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried under volcanic ash so quickly that they were well preserved. archaeologists now study the remains of the people there. they have learned many things about how people who lived in the ancient city of Pompeii.

multiple levels of government have made efforts to reduce the population of the red zone. they have demolished illegal buildings, establish a national park and even offered financial incentives to people who agree to move to other areas.

the volcano is closely monitored with extensive seismic and gravimetric stations as well as GPS and satellite there are other tests employed to keep track of gases and magma.

they hope that by 2025 or 2035 that an evacuation of the area will take only 2 or 3 days.