This Day in History August 24, 79 A.D.

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Okay, I know this is not a cheery happening, but I am sure you have heard of this historical event before.  This is a modern-day picture of the famous Mount Vesuvius that erupted on this date back in 79 A.D.  I hadn't realized that this is the only active volcano in mainland Europe.  I guess I never spent much time thinking about it.

This map will give you a general idea of where this mountain is located.  In the last 17,000 years, this volcano has erupted eight times.  It is said that this eruption may have killed as many as 16,000 people.

On a side note, this eruption is the reason volcanologists call large volcanic eruption clouds "Plinian."  They are named after Pliny, the younger, a Roman historian who witnessed and chronicled this very eruption.  These are the same clouds that were witness at the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens in Washington state. (I still remember that!  I was alive, and I will never forge the ash on the cars!!)  


For further study, click here.

For a video dramatization, click here.