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WONDERS OF NATURE
Volcano Vesuvius. Nature miracle
Vesuvius is the most famous of all the volcanoes in the world. The beginning of this fame was laid many centuries ago. And no wonder - because it is located in the country of ancient civilization, and the first description of its eruption was made back in 79 AD by the Roman scientist and writer Pliny the Younger. There is no other fire-breathing mountain on earth, scientific observations of which have been conducted for almost two millennia.
The Gulf of Naples, on the banks of which rises the massif of Vesuvius, one of the most beautiful in Italy. You can spend hours admiring its enchanting landscape, which seems to breathe calmness, silence and peace. But it is here that the only active volcanic region in continental Europe is located. (All other European volcanoes are located on the islands: Iceland, Sicily, Jan Mayen, Azores and Aeolian archipelagos.) Meanwhile, until 79, no one suspected that in the depths of Vesuvius titanic and formidable underground forces were dozing and waiting in the wings. At that time, vineyards and orchards were located on the green slopes of a low mountain familiar to everyone, long lived, herds of goats grazed, people worked. At the foot of Vesuvius, closer to the sea, there are rich and beautiful cities: Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabia and Oplontis. And in the bay and throughout the Tyrrhenian Sea, warships of the Misenian fleet of the Romans cruised, guarding trade routes from pirates. This fleet was commanded by Pliny the Elder, who later went down in history not as a naval commander, but as a famous natural scientist. With him on the ship was his nephew - the same Pliny the Younger, from whose letter to the historian Tacitus we learned the details of the tragedy. So, in August 79, a strong earthquake woke up the inhabitants of the vicinity of Vesuvius. Following this, a catastrophic eruption of the awakened volcano began. His painting is familiar to many from Bryullov's famous canvas "The Last Day of Pompeii". The imagination of the great painter recreated in colors the chilling details of a terrible catastrophe. But the reality was far worse. However, let's give the floor to Pliny the Younger. “August 24, about one o’clock in the afternoon, a cloud of extraordinary size appeared above the mountain. The cloud rose and in its shape resembled a tree, namely a pine tree, for it evenly stretched out with a very high trunk and then expanded into several branches. This cloud rose upwards with a strong stream of air, and in that where the jet weakened, it slowly expanded. The cloud was white in places, but dirty or spotted in places, probably from an admixture of ash. Gradually increasing and blackening, like a cloud, it covered the whole sky. In a huge and black thundercloud, they flashed and ran across fiery zigzags, and it split into long strips of flame, similar to lightning, but only of unprecedented magnitude ... Ashes began to fall, still rare; looking back, I saw how thick darkness was approaching us, which, like a stream, spilled after us over the earth. Darkness came, but not like on a moonless night, but like in a closed room when a fire is put out. Women's cries, children's squeaks and cries of men were heard: some called their parents, others called their children, still others wives or husbands, trying to recognize them by their voices; some mourned the death of their loved ones, others prayed in fear of death, many raised their hands to the gods, but the majority claimed that there were no more gods and that the last eternal night had come for the world. And here the commander of the Mizen fleet showed courage, which in such situations is often lacking in other modern commanders. He sent his ships to the shore and took up rescuing the dying inhabitants. We also know about how this happened from Pliny the Younger. “The farther the ships moved, the hotter and stronger the rain from the ashes was; pieces of pumice and black stones, burned and cracked from the heat, began to fall from above; the sea became very shallow, and, due to the eruption of the mountain, access to the coast became difficult. Meanwhile, from Vesuvius wide tongues of flame burst out and a huge column of fire rose, the brilliance and brightness of which only increased due to the surrounding darkness. Despite all the difficulties, Pliny the Elder and his sailors landed on the shore and headed for the nearest village. Here is what his nephew says about it: The scale of the eruption was enormous. Even on the other side of the bay, forty kilometers from the volcano, the ash fell so thickly that it was often necessary to get up and shake it off, otherwise it would fall asleep on a person and crush him with his weight. Everything around was covered with ashes, like snow. When, finally, after three days the eruption ended, a terrible picture presented itself to the eyes of the surviving people. From the settlements located at the foot of Vesuvius, only ruins remained. Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabia disappeared completely, they were completely covered with ashes and filled with mud. Yes, yes, it was mud, since the rainwater that fell from a thundercloud onto the slopes, mixing with ash, formed powerful mud streams that demolished everything in its path. They completely flooded the streets and houses of Herculaneum. Centuries passed, and people forgot about the disappeared cities. Only seventeen centuries later, by chance, while digging a well at the foot of Vesuvius, statues of the ancient gods were found. This was the reason to start excavations, thanks to which they discovered the city of Pompeii, covered with ashes and flooded with mud. Magnificent temples, circuses, workshops, residential buildings and many art and household items of that time are perfectly preserved under a seven-meter layer of caked ash. A significant part of Pompeii has been excavated today, and you can walk along the streets of the ancient Roman city and admire its squares and buildings, in which even paintings have been preserved. During excavations, voids were found in the hardened ash. Filling them with plaster, scientists found that they repeat the figures of people who died during the eruption. Now these figures, as well as the found utensils, are stored in the museum. After 79 years, the volcano was silent for almost one and a half thousand years. But in December 1631, a new powerful eruption of Vesuvius followed. Its surroundings were again covered with ashes, a fiery lava stream rushed down the slope, reaching the sea in less than an hour. Several cities were destroyed, and eight thousand people died. Eruptions were then repeated in the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries, bringing new troubles and destruction. In April 1906, the picture of the raging elements was especially formidable. A year and a half before the start of the cataclysm, the crater of the volcano was filled with molten lava. From time to time it splashed over its edge, and small explosions ejected ash and slag, piling up the cone. The pressure of the lava was so great that it made its way to the side of the cone and poured out from there in small portions. On April 4, all residents anxiously turned their eyes to the top of Vesuvius. From the crater a powerful column of dark ash escaped with great force; particles of lava were ejected along with it. Clouds of ash covered the sky. Ash fell in such quantity that in Naples, on the other side of the bay, people walked under umbrellas, hiding from it, as from rain. Then deafening explosions were heard and streams of red-hot lava poured. Having broken through the exits on the slopes of the volcano, it rapidly flowed down to the populated areas. People in fear left their homes, fleeing from death. Earthquake shocks, frequent explosions, darkness from falling ash, cut through by lightning and illuminated by lava, led people into indescribable horror. For four days the volcano trembled and seethed like a giant cauldron. Finally, the active stage of the eruption ended. But the volcano did not completely calm down, the nature of its activity simply changed. Now a mighty column of gases was bursting out of the crater, carrying ash particles with it and forming a giant swirling cloud, similar to a head of cauliflower eleven kilometers wide. A day later, the picture changed again. The volcano began to throw out thick clouds of gas clouds, so saturated with ash and lava fragments that complete darkness ensued. Lightning crackled tore black clouds, snowdrifts of ash covered the vicinity of Vesuvius with a two-meter layer. An impenetrable haze shrouded Naples and its suburbs. Hundreds of thousands of people fled cities and villages in panic. On April 28, heavy rain joined the ash emissions, and the resulting mud flows created new troubles. Many people died right in their homes. Only on April 30 did the eruption completely stop. The last major eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1944. Then the city of San Sebastian at the foot of the volcano was badly damaged. But even now, in a state of rest, the view of its crater makes a strong impression. It is not difficult to climb to it, since the height of the volcano is not much more than 1000 meters. However, it is impossible to accurately determine the growth of Vesuvius, since each new eruption either destroys the edge of its crater, and then its height decreases by a hundred or two meters, or it builds up a new layer of lava at the top, again increasing the mountain. In 1749, its height was 1014 meters, in 1906 - 1350, and now - 1186 meters. The tram will take you almost to the base of the cone at the top of the volcano, and then, to the very top, you can climb the cable car. From the edge of the crater you can clearly see the entire structure of the volcanic apparatus. The modern cone of Vesuvius arose inside a huge annular funnel-caldera, formed after an explosion in 79. The walls of the crater are sheer, so it is impossible to go down. Its depth is more than two hundred meters, and its diameter is about half a kilometer. Steam and sulphurous gases come out of the cracks at the bottom in some places, which rise in a light cloud above the top of the volcano. By this, he seems to remind everyone that his story has not yet ended and a new eruption can begin at any moment. Italy, along with Iceland, is the richest country in Europe with volcanoes. In addition to Vesuvius, there is also a whole volcanic necklace of the Aeolian Islands, one of which bears the name of Vulcano. According to Roman legend, under it in the bowels of the Earth is the forge of the fire god Vulcan. And when the god gets to work in his underground workshop, smoke and flames burst out of the crater of the volcano island. In honor of this workaholic deity, the ancient Romans named the island. And later his name became a household name for all fire-breathing mountains on Earth. Another volcanic island of the Lipari archipelago, Stromboli, is also very interesting. The Stromboli volcano rises directly from the sea to a height of 900 meters. Since time immemorial, it has been continuously active. It does not have strong eruptions with lava outpourings, but its cone, crowned with a white cap of smoke, is well known to all Italian sailors. Every 15-20 minutes, a small explosion occurs in the Stromboli crater, throwing pieces of red-hot lava and slag up several hundred meters. At night, the volcano is an exceptionally picturesque picture. A column of steam rising from the crater, illuminated by red-hot lava, looks ash red. Gradually, the colors flare up brighter and brighter, the column turns orange, then light yellow, almost white, and then an explosion occurs. Fiery sparks soar into the sky and descend into the abyss of the crater. The top is shrouded in darkness. But the volcano subsides for a short time. A few minutes later, everything repeats again. Stromboli has been erupting for over three thousand years. Its fiery flashes help sailors find their way both at night and in fog. And this volcano is quite deservedly called the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean Sea". The third volcanic region of Italy is the island of Sicily. On its eastern shore is the highest volcano in Europe - Etna. Its huge cone rises from the sea itself to a height of almost three and a half kilometers. Etna is also very active, and outpourings of lava from its crater occur every 10-15 years. Its first known eruption happened in 122 AD, and the last - in 1998. However, the lava of Etna, unlike the Vesuvian lava, is not viscous and thick, but liquid, fluid. It does not freeze in the mouth of the volcano, blocking it, and, therefore, a catastrophic explosion cannot occur on Etna, similar to the one that destroyed Pompeii. Numerous eruptions have given the huge volcanic cone of Etna an unusually picturesque appearance with many secondary cones, craters and cones inside the craters. For nine months of the year, Etna is covered with snow, and its silhouette contrasts sharply with the summer appearance of the evergreen Mediterranean coasts. But even in Italy so rich in volcanoes, Vesuvius stands out for its formidable temper. And as if in order to relieve the traveler of the heavy impression that arises after visiting the indomitable giant, nature placed at the other end of the Gulf of Naples another miracle of its own, leaving directly opposite feelings in the soul. This is the pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea - the island of Capri, where in the fabulous grottoes carved by waves in the coastal rocks, the traveler forgets about everything, enjoying, like music, the play of light, water and stone. There are many grottoes here, and all of them have melodious, poetic names: Emerald, Blue, White, Marble, Amazing... The most unusual of them, but also the most inaccessible, is the Blue Grotto. You can get into it only from the water, and only in calm weather. During a storm, the narrow passage to the grotto is inaccessible to boats. But if the sea is calm, the traveler gets a chance to visit a unique corner of the earth, the likes of which cannot be found either on land or under water.
Blue water, blue vaults of the grotto... Even the air seems to be filled with tender azure. All this is illuminated from nowhere by the penetrating rays of the sun. If you throw something into the water - a copper coin or a pebble - then the object takes on a silvery hue in the depths. The oars, lowered into the water, look the same. The voices of people resoundingly echo under the vaults of the grotto. The light, as it turns out, enters the Blue Grotto not through a narrow gap through which a boat with tourists squeezed through, but through another, wider opening at the other end of the grotto. The rays of the luminary, falling through the sea water onto the bottom stones, are reflected and illuminate the grotto through the blue water column with an unearthly, fantastic reflection. Tourist travel, alas, is fleeting and quickly coming to an end. The whirlwind of everyday city life soon erases from memory the details of what he saw on his travels, figures and facts gleaned from guidebooks. But the general impression of visiting a country, city or island continues to live in the soul of a person. And in the memory of everyone who has been on the shores of the Gulf of Naples, the bubbling fury of the fiery mouth of Vesuvius and the enchanting symphony of azure colors of the Blue Grotto will remain for a long time ... Author: B.Wagner
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