Mt. Vesuvius Details
Mt. Vesuvius Basics
Mt. Vesuvius, a roughly 4300-feet high, deadly volcano, is located near the Bay of Naples, in the region of Campania, in Italy. Mt. Vesuvius is famous for its eruption on August 24 A.D. 79, that destroyed the cities of Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Pompeii, and thousands of residents. Pompeii was buried under 10 feet of material set in motion by the eruption of the volcano, while Herculaneum was buried under 75 feet of ash.
Pompeii and Herculaneum remained buried until the 18th century. Although exposure has led to wear and tear, at the time of the archaeological discovery, it provided the world with an image frozen in time of life in first century Italy and is still referred to for what is generally the best physical evidence.
Mt. Vesuvius had erupted before, but the A.D. 79 eruption is the first volcanic eruption described in detail by a witness, Pliny the Younger.
Source: volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_vesuvius.html - Vesuvius, Italy
