A volcano is a mountain where lava (hot, liquid rock) comes from a magma chamber under the ground.
Most volcanoes have a volcanic crater at the top. When they are active, materials pour out of it. This includes lava, steam, gaseous compounds ofsulphur, ash and broken rock pieces.
Volcanoes erupt when magma and pressure come together, and the pressure blows off the top of the solid rock, and the magma pours out.
Volcanoes are also found on planets other than Earth, like the Olympus Mons on Mars.
Most volcanoes have a volcanic crater at the top. When they are active, materials pour out of it. This includes lava, steam, gaseous compounds ofsulphur, ash and broken rock pieces.
Volcanoes erupt when magma and pressure come together, and the pressure blows off the top of the solid rock, and the magma pours out.
Volcanoes are also found on planets other than Earth, like the Olympus Mons on Mars.
Here you can clearly see the magma forcing its way up through the vent and melting anything that is in its way. In the magma chamber it is moving all the rocks around it causing them to work together and vibrate (earthquake).It throws out hot rocks. Once the magma comes out it is then known as lava which then eventually cools down . When it cools down it makes the volcano grow bigger.
Mount Vesuvius, on the west coast of Italy, is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It is best known because of the eruption in A.D. 79 that destroyed the city of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the large population of the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the slopes nearby.
The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate.
Tons of falling debris filled the streets until nothing remained to be seen of the once thriving communities. The cities remained buried and undiscovered for almost 1700 years until excavation began in 1748. These excavations continue today and provide insight into life during the Roman Empire.
An ancient voice reaches out from the past to tell us of the disaster. This voice belongs to Pliny the Younger whose letters describe his experience during the eruption while he was staying in the home of his Uncle, Pliny the Elder. The elder Pliny was an official in the Roman Court, in charge of the fleet in the area of the Bay of Naples and a naturalist. Pliny the Younger's letters were discovered in the 16th century.
To find out more go to http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm
The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes, such as Campi Flegrei and Stromboli, are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary where the African plate is being subducted beneath the Eurasian plate.
Tons of falling debris filled the streets until nothing remained to be seen of the once thriving communities. The cities remained buried and undiscovered for almost 1700 years until excavation began in 1748. These excavations continue today and provide insight into life during the Roman Empire.
An ancient voice reaches out from the past to tell us of the disaster. This voice belongs to Pliny the Younger whose letters describe his experience during the eruption while he was staying in the home of his Uncle, Pliny the Elder. The elder Pliny was an official in the Roman Court, in charge of the fleet in the area of the Bay of Naples and a naturalist. Pliny the Younger's letters were discovered in the 16th century.
To find out more go to http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pompeii.htm