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Phenomena

Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD

Volcanology

A violent eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Campania, Italy, that sent a column of superheated tephra and gas about 33 kilometers into the atmosphere and buried the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum under pyroclastic surges and ash. The burial preserved the cities in extraordinary detail, making the site a UNESCO World Heritage listing and giving volcanology the term Vesuvian eruption, and the event is uniquely documented by two eyewitness letters from Pliny the Younger. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts
Disputed
Event Date
0079-08-24 1
The traditional date rests on a figure in Pliny the Younger's letter to Tacitus, printed since 1508 as 24 August; the surviving manuscript tradition is ambiguous, with some copies reading other dates. Archaeological evidence favors an autumn eruption instead: excavated autumn fruit, warm clothing on victims and wine vessels sealed after the grape harvest, a 2007 study matching the ash plume's southeasterly fall to autumn rather than summer wind patterns, and a 2018 charcoal inscription apparently dated 17 October whose own dating (whether it records 79 AD itself) remains unconfirmed. A 2022 study proposed a range of 24 October to 1 November; that conclusion has been challenged in turn. The traditional 24 August date is recorded here as the conventional reference point given the genuine, still-unsettled state of the scholarship, not as a claim that it is the best-supported date.
Death Toll
Unknown; remains of over 1,500 people have been recovered from Pompeii and Herculaneum, whose combined population exceeded 20,000, but the total death toll is unconfirmed 1
Magnitude or Scale
Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) 5, eruption column reaching about 33 kilometers 1
Location
Campania, Italy 1
Connections

Associated With

Volcanic Explosivity Index, Concepts

Rated Volcanic Explosivity Index 5.

Source Volcanic Explosivity Index (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Volcanism, Processes

Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD); earth5 pass cause judgment: Volcanism.

Source Wikidata: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD

In Discipline

Volcanology, Disciplines
Source Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases

Found In

Italy

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.

Source Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
Quote, Lead paragraph of the cited Wikipedia article
In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius, a stratovolcano located in the modern-day region of Campania, Italy, erupted, causing one of the deadliest eruptions in history.
Sources
1. Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    The remains of over 1,500 people have been found at Pompeii and Herculaneum. The total death toll from the eruption remains unknown.
  • Date of the eruption section
  • In Group: Major Volcanic Eruptions, Lead sentence
    In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius, a stratovolcano located in the modern-day region of Campania, Italy, erupted, causing one of the deadliest eruptions in history.
View the Source
Wikidata: Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD
Wikidata Q2411998, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source
Volcanic Explosivity Index (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Volcanic Explosivity IndexView the Source
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