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Vesuvius, Italy, AD 79 What began as a common eruption of ash from Vesuvius during the summer of A.D. 79 soon became a disaster for the residents of Pompeii. It was common for Vesuvius to vent gas and ash from time-to-time yet on this day the eruptions were of greater intensity and duration. As the day wore Pompeii was in eminent danger. Evacuation of the city was ordered late in the afternoon. Before many could flee, Vesuvius erupted with a violent force sending hot ash down the mountain and burying those unable to escape. People and animals were literally entombed in the ash. The city was covered with so much ash that it was abandoned.
Figure VL.* Watch "Volcanic Activity: Vesuvius". Courtesy of Britannica On May 8, 1902 Mt. Pelee
Paricutin, Mexico, 1943 In the winter of 1943, the countryside near Paricutin, Mexico was rocked by a series of earthquakes. The tremors lasted for nearly two weeks when a fissure open in a farmer's field and the birth of cinder cone was underway. Within 12 hours of the initial eruption, the fissure was ejecting pyroclastic material as well as huge clouds of gas and ash. Within 24 hours a 40 meter high cone hurling volcanic bombs several kilometers away had been built. Lava began to spill from the base of the cone building the volcano laterally. After nine years of activity, two villages had been buried and 50 km2 of farmland had been devastated and abandon.
Figure VL.* Watch "Volcanic Activity: Paricutin". Courtesy of Britannica
Krakatau, Indonesia, 1883. The small, inhabited island of Krakatau was the site of the greatest explosion ever witnessed by humans. The island situated in an ancient caldera between Java and Sumatra exploded on August 27, 1883. Beneath the earth, pressure from steam was building by the intense heating of groundwater in the old volcano. The explosion hurdled 20 cubic kilometers of debris into the air leaving a 300 meter deep hole inside the caldera. The explosion was so great that it could be heard 2000 km away in Australia and airborne debris caused total darkness 150 km away. The force of the explosion created a air pressure wave felt halfway around the world. A massive, a 40 m high ocean wave radiated across the ocean killing an estimated 36,000 people living in coastal locations. |
