Mt. Vesuvius
Mt. Vesuvius is probably the most well-known volcano in the world! It last erupted in 1944 during the height of World War II. It destroyed many US bomber planes. It is also very famous for its eruption over Pomeii. Most people know of the amazing city 'frozen in time' by the ash which covered and killed everything. It has been dormant (but still active) for quite a long time now, we are just waiting for it to erupt any time now...
Mount Vesuvius is in Italy, on the coast of Naples, about 7 km from the city of Naples. It is a strato-volcano, made of two cones, seperated by a 3 mile valley! It is about 4,200 feet high and Geologists estimate it to be about 17,000 years old! It is the only volcano in Europe that has erupted in the last century and is still active!! It has erupted over 50 times in the last 2,000 years. That's a lot for a volcano. In 79 AD it erupted almost constantly for an entire day, and buried the city of Pompeii in ashes. The ash has preserved everything that was there when the eruption happened and is a great place for studying the past. Although not often mentioned, the city of Herculaneum was also covered in ash. Today there are over 2 million people living way too close to it that is safe, when it next erupts, they will all be in A LOT of danger. Even today, a slow, constant puff of sulphuric smoke can be seen coming out of the crater.