Peer into the Crater: The Gran Cono
Standing at the edge of the Gran Cono, the crater of Vesuvius, you are looking into the heart of one of the world’s most famous volcanoes.
When Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, many people in Pompeii and Herculaneum were unaware that it was actually a volcano!
It had been dormant for centuries, so the eruption came entirely out of the blue.
In the days prior to the eruption, there were several signs that something mysterious was happening, such as dried up rivers, earthquakes and animals behaving erratically.
The people of Pompeii and Herculaneum did not take much notice...
As well as this, the signs had been present for years before the big eruption. A devastating earthquake had struck in 62AD, flattening many buildings in Pompeii and Herculaneum.
As we all know, earthquakes are often the precursor to an eruption, the volcano waking from it's long slumber.
Ash's Fun Fact!
Geologists have discovered that there is a massive chamber of magma underneath the volcano, estimated to be nearly the size of Mount Everest!