Vesuvius in the context of "Stratovolcano"

⭐ In the context of stratovolcanoes, Mount Vesuvius is considered notable primarily because of…

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⭐ Core Definition: Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius (/vəˈsviəs/ və-SOO-vee-əs) is a sommastratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera, resulting from the collapse of an earlier, much higher structure.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis, Stabiae and other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ash and volcanic gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), erupting molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 6×10 cubic metres (7.8×10 cu yd) per second. More than 1,000 people are thought to have died in the eruption, though the exact toll is unknown. The only surviving witness account consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

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👉 Vesuvius in the context of Stratovolcano

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a typically conical volcano built up by many alternating layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and explosive eruptions. Some have collapsed summit craters called calderas. The lava flowing from stratovolcanoes typically cools and solidifies before spreading far, due to high viscosity. The magma forming this lava is often felsic, having high to intermediate levels of silica (as in rhyolite, dacite, or andesite), with lesser amounts of less viscous mafic magma. Extensive felsic lava flows are uncommon, but can travel as far as 8 kilometres (5 miles).

The term composite volcano is used because strata are usually mixed and uneven instead of neat layers. They are among the most common types of volcanoes; more than 700 stratovolcanoes have erupted lava during the Holocene Epoch (the last 11,700 years), and many older, now extinct, stratovolcanoes erupted lava as far back as Archean times. Stratovolcanoes are typically found in subduction zones but they also occur in other geological settings. Two examples of stratovolcanoes famous for catastrophic eruptions are Krakatoa in Indonesia (which erupted in 1883 claiming 36,000 lives) and Mount Vesuvius in Italy (which erupted in 79 A.D killing an estimated 2,000 people). In modern times, Mount St. Helens (1980) in Washington State, US, and Mount Pinatubo (1991) in the Philippines have erupted catastrophically, but with fewer deaths.

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Vesuvius in the context of Luigi Palmieri

Luigi Palmieri (22 April 1807 – 9 September 1896) was an Italian physicist and meteorologist. He was famous for his scientific studies of the eruptions of Mount Vesuvius, for his researches on earthquakes and meteorological phenomena and for improving the seismograph of the time.

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Vesuvius in the context of Battle of Mons Lactarius

The Battle of Mons Lactarius (also known as Battle of the Vesuvius) took place in 552 or 553 AD during the Gothic War (535–554) between Byzantine forces and the Ostrogoths (Goths) near Mount Vesuvius in Italy.

Byzantine forces, led by General Narses confronted the army of the Gothic King Teias in the rugged terrain near Mount Vesuvius. After two months of stalemate, the two sides finally engaged in open battle. Teias was killed in the fighting, marking the collapse of Gothic leadership. The remaining Gothic troops resisted for a short time but ultimately surrendered under negotiated terms. This victory ended Gothic power on the Italian peninsula, allowing the Byzantines to reestablish their authority there.

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Vesuvius in the context of Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte

The Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte (Italian: Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte) is the Neapolitan department of Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (National Institute for Astrophysics, INAF), the most important Italian institution promoting, developing and conducting scientific research in the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and space science.

The Astronomical Observatory is located in Naples, Italy, on Capodimonte hill, where the splendid panorama of the city and bay of Naples from Vesuvius to Castel Sant'Elmo passing through Sorrento and Capri can be admired.The Observatory is engaged in several relevant international projects and researches, such as Solar Orbiter and ExoMars missions, gravitational waves studies, and observational instruments development for E-ELT, the next generation huge telescope.

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Vesuvius in the context of Italian culture

The culture of Italy encompasses the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, and customs of the Italian peninsula throughout history. Italy has been a pivotal center of civilisation, playing a crucial role in the development of Western culture. It was the birthplace of the Roman civilisation, the Catholic Church, and the Renaissance, and significantly contributed to global movements such as the Baroque, Neoclassicism, and Futurism.

Italy is one of the primary birthplaces of Western civilisation and a cultural superpower.

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Vesuvius in the context of Periclase

Periclase is a magnesium mineral that occurs naturally in contact metamorphic rocks and is a major component of most basic refractory bricks. It is a cubic form of magnesium oxide (MgO). In nature it usually forms a solid solution with wüstite (FeO) and is then referred to as ferropericlase or magnesiowüstite.

It was first described in 1840 and named from the Greek περικλάω (to break around) in allusion to its cleavage. The type locality is Monte Somma, Somma-Vesuvius Complex, Naples Province, Campania, Italy.

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Vesuvius in the context of George Julius Poulett Scrope

George Julius Poulett Scrope FRS (10 March 1797 – 19 January 1876) was an English geologist and political economist as well as a Member of Parliament and magistrate for Stroud in Gloucestershire.

While an undergraduate at Cambridge, through the influence of Edward Clarke and Adam Sedgwick he became interested in mineralogy and geology. During the winter of 1816–1817 he was at Naples, and was so keenly interested in Vesuvius that he renewed his studies of the volcano in 1818; and in the following year visited Etna and the Lipari Islands. In 1821 he married the daughter and heiress of William Scrope of Castle Combe, Wiltshire, and assumed her name; and he entered the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in 1833 as MP for Stroud, retaining his seat until 1868.

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