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Eruption Interactive
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Volcano Map
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Field Notes: Clark
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Vesuvius
In
A.D.
79, the world's most dangerous volcano buried the town of Pompeii. The next blast could be much bigger.
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A.D. 79 buried the town of Pompeii (near the white spire, at center), but new research indicates the next blast could be much bigger.]]>
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B.C. In the face of a similar catastrophe, residents have to hope they get enough warning to evacuate.]]>
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B.C. ]]>
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A.D. 79 eruption hit Herculaneum. The scorching ash vaporized their flesh as it enveloped them.]]>
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A.D. 79 eruption lies on display at Pompeii. Many died pressing pillows to their faces in a vain attempt to keep from inhaling ash. Vesuvius typically lets loose with a giant column of hot ash and stones that is dispersed by wind, but as the column collapses, searing clouds of debris in the pyroclastic surge wreak havoc. The current evacuation plan is based on the 1631 blast, which barely reached the Naples area, but scientists have learned recently that a larger eruption in 1780
B.C.
devastated most of where the city now sits. Such cataclysmic eruptions occur about every 2,000 years, so the next is coming due.]]>
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1780 B.C. eruption preserved the footprints of two people fleeing the volcano. Thousands of other prints nearby testify to a mass exodus.]]>
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A.D. 79 eruption, Roman farmers grew grapes for wine in the rich volcanic soil here. Excavations in the 1980s uncovered grape presses, warehouses for wine, villas, and five human skeletons buried beneath 65 feet (20 meters) of volcanic debris.]]>
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