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Vesuvius Day
"Though my shocked soul recoils, my tongue shall tell.”
~ Pliny the Younger’s letter to the historian Tacitus, describing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79
Vulcanologists (or those from the planet Vulcan), you have your own stunning tartan, inspired by the fiery hues of hot lava flowing over cooled black rock!
Volcano Day, also known as Vesuvius Day, commemorates the infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under a thick blanket of ash and pumice. This catastrophic event killed thousands but left behind a remarkable snapshot of Roman life—preserved in exquisite detail, from frescoed walls and bread still in ovens to human casts captured in volcanic ash.
Vesuvius, still considered an active volcano, looms over the Bay of Naples, with its last significant eruption occurring in 1944. Today, the volcano shows low but persistent seismic activity and occasional gas emissions from its crater, reminding us that it is merely dormant, not extinct. It remains one of the most closely monitored volcanoes in the world.
Lava, when it first erupts from a volcanic vent, reaches blistering temperatures between 1,300 and 2,200°F (700–1,200°C). Although it’s much thicker than water, lava can flow great distances before cooling and solidifying, thanks to its ability to thin as it moves. Most lava flows, particularly from shield volcanoes like those in Hawaii, are slow-moving—often less than a mile per hour—but Vesuvius remains capable of far more explosive and dangerous eruptions. 💜 ❤️ 🧡 🖤 🔥 🔥 🔥 🌋
Mount Vesuvius, in the Gulf of Naples, Italy, is best known for its eruption, formerly believed to be August 24th but only recently corrected to today's date Oct 17th, in the year AD 79 that led to the burying and destruction of the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, and several other settlements. That eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ash, and fumes to a height of 33 km (20.5 mi), spewing molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 1.5 million tons per second, ultimately releasing a hundred thousand times the thermal energy released by the Hiroshima bombing. An estimated 16,000 people died due to hydrothermal pyroclastic flows.
There are more than 1,500 volcanoes that could be active today. An estimated 500 million people live near active volcanoes.
By designer Carol A.L. Martin, the colors and design in this tartan evokes the colors and flow of the extreme heat of lava.
Kilauea volcano in Hawaii is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth. It has been erupting almost continuously since 1983.
To find out about the correction date for this famous eruption, click the Hawaiian lava flow photo by Sean King.