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Eruption of Vesuvius

Pompeii, once buried by 6 m of volcanic debris from Mt. Vesuvius, was excavated by archaeologists in the late nineteenth century. Vesuvius rises in the distance. When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E., it was probably much larger, as depicted in this sketch. The dark pellets are hot volcanic bombs and lapilli.

Growth of a Stratovolcano

A stratovolcano such as Japan’s Mount Fuji consists of alternating layers of ash and lava. This animation examines the processes by which a stratovolcano forms.

Additional Resources

The abundance of geology-related websites speaks to the active and exciting nature of this field. In the space below we link to external websites that explore topics covered in this chapter.

These links are selected carefully and updated regularly; however, their contents may change over time. Please click here to report a bad or missing link.

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	Photo Glossary of Volcanic Terms 9/20/2004 USGS
		This USGS site defines and illustrates 60 terms related to volcanic activity.

	the 12 May 1996 Pyroclastic Activity, Pyroclastic flows meets the Atlantic 10/14/2004 Montserrat Volcano Observatory, Montserrat Government
		Video from the Mountserrat Volcano Observatory shows spectacular footage of pyroclastic flow as it comes into contact with the Atlantic Ocean.

	Savage Earth: Volcanic Eruption 2/7/2005 PBS
		This animation shows how a stratovolcano is built from alternating layers of ash and lava.

	Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam 4/14/2005 US Forest Service
		This image of Mount St. Helens, taken from the Johnston Ridge Observatory is updated approximately every five minutes. The Observatory and VolcanoCam are located at an elevation of approximately 4,500 feet, about five miles from the volcano. You are looking approximately south-southeast across the North Fork Toutle River Valley. Please make sure your web browser is not set to cache images or you may not see the updates when the web page refreshes.

	Mount St. Helens VolcanoCam Movies and Images 4/14/2005 US Forest Department
		This page includes downloadable movies and images, plus descriptive information about Mount St. Helens eruption events beginning Oct. 1, 2004.