What rocks make up Mount Vesuvius?

What rocks make up Mount Vesuvius?

The rocks at Vesuvius are called tephrite. A tephrite is basaltic in character and contains the following minerals: calcic plagioclase, augite, and nepheline or leucite. Vesuvius is a dangerous and deadly volcano. Mudflows and lava flows from the eruption in 1631 killed 3,500 people.

What type of lava is Mount Vesuvius?

Mount Vesuvius Geology and Hazards Most rocks erupted from Vesuvius are andesite, an intermediate volcanic rock (about 53-63% silica). Andesite lava creates explosive eruptions on a variety of scales, which makes Vesuvius an especially dangerous and unpredictable volcano.

What is the height of Mount Vesuvius?

1,281 m
Mount Vesuvius/Elevation

Vesuvius, also called Mount Vesuvius or Italian Vesuvio, active volcano that rises above the Bay of Naples on the plain of Campania in southern Italy. Its western base rests almost upon the bay. The height of the cone in 2013 was 4,203 feet (1,281 metres), but it varies considerably after each major eruption.

What makes Mount Vesuvius a stratovolcano?

Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of its proximity to the city of Naples and the surrounding towns on the nearby slopes. The volcano is classed as a complex stratovolcano because its eruptions typically involve explosive eruptions as well as pyroclastic flows.

Is Mount Vesuvius on a tectonic plate?

Mount Vesuvius has been found to be located right over the African tectonic plate fault line, as seen in Figure 7.

How was Mount Vesuvius formed?

Formation. Vesuvius was formed as a result of the collision of two tectonic plates, the African and the Eurasian. The former was pushed beneath the latter, becoming pushed deeper into the Earth. The crust material became heated until it melted, forming magma, one kind of liquid rock.

What tectonic plates are near Mount Vesuvius?

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. Under Vesuvius, scientists have detected a tear in the African plate.

Was Mount Vesuvius formed by subduction?

As part of the Campanian volcanic arc, it formed over the subduction zone created by the collision of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. This subduction zone stretches the length of the Italian peninsula and is the source of other volcanoes, such as Mt. Etna and Stromboli.

What kind of rock is Mount Vesuvius made of?

The composition of these rock types vary from basalt to rhyolite in a single volcano. The overall composition in all stratovolcanoes is Andesitic . The rocks formed at Mount Vesuvius are called tephrite. Mount Vesuvius is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc.

How long did it take for Mount Vesuvius to form?

The mountain started forming about 17,000 years ago, although the area of Naples has been an area of volcanic activity for 400,000 years. Mount Vesuvius was then built up by a series of lava flows. Before Mount Vesuvius was formed the area was home to another volcano known as Mount Somma.

What makes the eruption of Mount Vesuvius so dangerous?

Andesite lava creates explosive eruptions on a variety of scales, which makes Vesuvius an especially dangerous and unpredictable volcano. Strombolian eruptions (explosions of magma from a pool in the volcano’s conduit) and lava flows from the summit and flank fissures are relatively small.

How old is the oldest rock from the Vesuvius volcano?

Vesuvius has a long history. The oldest dated rock from the volcano is about 300,000 years old. It was collected from a well drilled near the volcano and was probably part of the Somma volcano.