What if I told you that in some places there is a mountain that has a hole at the top and
every once in a while it ejects a material that is hundreds of degrees? Crazy right? Well, its
true and its called a Volcano. One question is that how can this happen? A major question
is how can people know when the volcano will erupt? How does this material just eject from
the volcano? Well, if you keep reading, you’ll find out. There were many tragedies
regarding volcanoes like Pompeii, that occurred hundreds of years ago. A volcano is a hill or mountain that has a crater at the top of it and magma seeps
through this vent type crater, sometimes causing drastic damage to the surrounding
civilization and anything in its path. The volcano eruption depends on
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The temperature of the ejected magma ( Lava ) will depend on the
chemical composition of the lava. Hawaiian lava ( Basalt ) can get up to 1100 degrees
celsius. So if you see this stuff coming after you at a high rate of speed, you might want to
get out of the way.
Hundreds of years ago, in 79 AD, there was a volcano called Mount Vesuvius. This
mountain lied in the Bay of Naples, in Italy. This volcano had previously erupted thousands
of times, but there was a certain eruption that became very famous. The town of Pompeii,
located about 5 miles from the volcano, was a flourishing resort for Romes most wealthy
and popular citizens. The town of pompeii was a very fancy town, having nicely paved
roads and nicely built houses. This town, being only 5 miles from the deadly volcano, was
bound to be remembered as a tragedy. On the eve of this fateful eruption, there was about
20,000 citizens living in Pompeii. On that august day in pompeii, there was an odd looking
smoke cloud in the sky. That cloud was of Mount Vesuvius. The blast sent rocks, fumes of
ash, and scorching hot volcanic gas so high up in the sky that it could be seen from
Volcanic forecasts are more accurate then earthquake predictions. These predictions are generally forecast in the same way as an earthquake (temperature increases in geothermic waters gaseous concentrations, changes in elevation of land and water etc… Because we generally know where Volcanoes are, we can predict when an eruption may take place.
On the afternoon of 24th August 79 AD, a volcano called Mt. Vesuvius erupted, which resulted in destroyed lives of citizens, it was estimated that there were 10 to 12 thousand people who occupied the city .The cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum and a few others were severely affected by the eruption. The cities are well known for its beautiful landscapes and its temperate climate.Pompeii is based in the south, close to Naples in the region of Campania in Italy.The eruption started a series of events such as pumice,rocks and ashes falling down and caused hot volcanic gases to rise high in the sky, people from around 100 miles away could see the event unfolding.The remains of Pompeii and other cities was frozen in time due to the pyroclastic surges
A prominent feature that contributed heavily to the way of life in Pompeii was the cities geographical location. The city was situated on a bay and was surrounded by rivers. Seneca tells us that “the city is a pleasant bay ….. bounded by the shores of Surrantum and Stabiae.” This meant that a large amount of trade took place in Pompeii, not only from the sea but from inland as well. Pompeii was also close to Vesuvius, a volcanic mountain. Pliny the Elder writes of this in his Natural History, “Pompeii [with Vesuvius visible close at hand.” Previous volcanic activity in the region led to extremely fertile soil. This contributes heavily to Pompeii’s productive and successful agricultural lands. The geographical location of Pompeii was a prominent feature as it contributed heavily to the city’s economic, industrial, and social aspects.
Mount Vesuvius is located in the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. Its Latitude and Longitude is 40.8224° N, 14.4289° E. It is a stratovolcano and has a height of 1277 meters (1490 feet) and base of 48 kilometers (30 miles). Mount Vesuvius has erupted over 30 times and has a repose time that can last for months or even years between eruptions. Its eruptions are explosive and is dominated by pyroclastic flows. The eruption materials are usually an ash cloud with lightening that spews out dense ash falls. The lava can shoot up to 4km into the air. The most famous eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius were in 79 A.D. which destroyed the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The cities were covered in 20 feet of volcanic debris. The estimated death toll was over 1000 people. The
The private and public leisure activities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were largely abundant. Many activities could be participated in and were used often. These include Drama performances, gladiatorial games, drinking, gambling, brothels, exercise, gardens, baths and food and dining. All these were an important part of Pompeian and Herculaneum life. They were seen as important to keep the body and mind healthy in most cases. Though some opposed some of the activities like brothels, gambling and drinking. But all give a important look into the life of those in Pompeii and Herculaneum before the catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius which completely destroyed both towns and all its inhabitants.
Stories about volcanoes are captivating. Myths come in different versions, but all of them are capable of capturing yours, and everybody’s imagination.
It is known however that lying underneath one of America's areas of great natural beauty, Yellowstone Park, lays one of the largest super volcanoes in the world. Scientists have discovered that it has been on a regular eruption cycle of 600,000 years. The last eruption was 640,000 years ago, therefore this shows the next eruption is late and could erupt at any moment. Scientists know that the collision of a Yellowstone eruption is terrifying to understand.
Volcanoes are one of natures most interesting and dangerous phenomenons. The way volcanoes operate can be understood, on a basic level, by just some simple physics and chemistry, this paper will investigate and explain some of the basic physics that govern the behavior of volcanoes.
A volcanologist might ask this question because a usual precursor to a volcano erupting is a sizeable earthquake and change in seismic activity. Another question a volcanologist might ask is: If this volcano erupts, how will it affect it surroundings? A volcanologist might ask this question because they might have to act quickly if they need to evacuate an area or send a warning out to the local officials etc. What tools do Volcanologists use?
Volcanoes are one of the most destructive forces on Earth. It is estimated that some 500 million people live near active volcanoes (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2013). Of the Earth's known volcanoes, 70 are expected to erupt each year with at least one large eruption each decade (Lutgens & Tarbuck, 2013). As populations continue to increase and more people are attracted to the beauty surrounding these areas, the immediate threat to humans from these sometimes sleeping giants grows. Due to this, the study of volcanoes and the service that volcanologists provide to the public by way of information and predictions on activity is immeasurable.
Pompeii is possibly the best-documented catastrophe in Antiquity. Because of it, we know now how the Pompeians lived because they left behind an extensive legacy of art, including monuments, sculptures and paintings. Pompeii lay on a plateau of ancient lava near the Bay of Naples in western Italy in a region called Campania, less than 1.6 kilometers from the foot of Mount Vesuvius. With the coast to the west and the Apennine Mountains to the East, Campania is a fertile plain, traversed by two major rivers and rich soil. However, in the early days, it was not a remarkable city. Scholars have not been able to identify Pompeii’s original inhabitants. The first people to settle in this region were probably prehistoric hunters and fishers. By at least the eight century B.C., a group of Italic people known as the Oscans occupied the region; they most likely established Pompeii, although the exact date of its origin is unknown. “The root of the word Pompeii would appear to be the Oscan word for the number five, pompe, which suggests that either the community consisted of five hamlets or, perhaps, was settled by a family group (gens Pompeia)”(Kraus 7). In the course of the eight century B.C., Greek and Etruscan colonization stimulated the development of Pompeii as a city around the area of the Forum. A point for important trade routes, it became a place for trading towards the inland. Up until the middle of the 5th century B.C., the city was dominated politically by the Etruscans.
Volcanoes can cause damage by spewing lava, but earthquakes before the eruption can also cause damage. These earthquakes open fissures and let magma out to the surface. When the magma exits these fissures, streams of lava up to hundreds of feet can shoot into the air. The picture below shows the lava erupting from the fissures created by the earthquakes in...
Igneous rocks are formed from the ejection of earth’s volcanoes. Deep down inside earth’s mantle there lies hot magma. Magma is molten rock that is kept below the surface. This mixture is usually made up of four parts: a hot liquid substance which is called the melt; minerals that have been crystallized by the melt; solid rocks that have made themselves tangled in the melt because of loose materials, and finally gases that have become liquid. Magma is created by an increase in temperatures, pressure change, and a alter in composition. When this magma is ejected from earth’s crust it earns a new name called lava. The lava hardens and becomes an Igneous rock.
Mount Vesuvius is a strato-volcano consisting of a volcanic cone (Gran Cono) that was built within a summit caldera (Mount Somma). The Somma-Vesuvius complex has formed over the last 25,000 years by means of a sequence of eruptions of variable explosiveness, ranging from the quiet lava outpourings that characterized much of the latest activity (for example from 1881 to 1899 and from 1926 to 1930) to the explosive Plinian eruptions, including the one that destroyed Pompeii and killed thousands of people in 79 A.D. At least seven Plinian eruptions have been identified in