Mt Vesuvius

About Mt Vesuvius:

• It is an active volcano that rises above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania in southern Italy.
• It is the only active volcano in mainland Europe.
• The volcano is classified as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows.
• A pyroclastic flow is a high-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas.
• It is most famous for the 79 AD eruption which destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
• It is part of the Campanian volcanic arc, a line of volcanoes that formed over a subduction zone created by the convergence of the African and Eurasian plates.
• This subduction zone stretches the length of the Italian peninsula, and is also the source of other volcanoes like Mount Etna, the Phlegraean Fields (Campi Flegrei), Vulcano, and Stromboli.
• Under Vesuvius, the lower part of the subducting slab has torn and detached from the upper part to form what is called a “slab window.”
• This makes Vesuvius’ rocks slightly different chemically from the rocks erupted from the other Campanian volcanoes.

Q1) What are Tectonic plates?

Tectonic plates are massive, rigid pieces of the Earth’s lithosphere (the outermost shell of the Earth) that cover the planet’s surface like a jigsaw puzzle. These plates are responsible for the movement and shaping of the Earth’s crust and play a fundamental role in the geological processes that shape our planet.

Source: Researchers ‘virtually unwrapped’ ancient scrolls charred by Mt Vesuvius in 79 AD