International Space Station
Mount Vesuvius, Italy
by Angie Cope
Vesuvius is a volcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 5.6 miles east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. The height of the main cone has been constantly changed by eruptions but was 4,203 feet in 2010.
Vesuvius was formed as a result of the collision of the African and the Eurasian tectonic plates. The infamous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae, as well as several other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to a height of 21 miles, erupting molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 7.8 × 105 cubic yards per second.
Vesuvius has erupted many times since then and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living near enough to be affected, with 600,000 directly in the danger zone.
Here is an image shared by Google from the International Space Station showing Mount Vesuvius as the large, black, circular area. Naples, Italy shines bright at night and the different colors of light reflect some of the area’s history – mercury vapor bulbs in green, and sodium bulbs in yellow-orange.
Here is a map donated to the AGS of NY in 1918 from Allison Armour showing Mount Vesuvius in 1908. Il Vesuvio / Istituto Geografico Militare
https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/3379/rec/1
Here is another view of Moutn Vesuvius on this 1913 map of Campania, Italy
https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/15436/rec/69
Carta fisica-corografica della Campania / a tinte ipsometriche, curata dal Prof. A. Ghisleri ; costrutta ed eseguita nell’Off. Cartogr. Nani & Longhi ; proprieta Artistico-Letteraria ; Ditta G.B. Paravia & C. ; lit. Bolis 1913
American Geographical Society Library 