Integrative Natural History of Mount Vesuvius & the Gulf of Naples, Part 4: Sun, Shade, and Strata | Campania, Italy
This photo, in common with Part 3 of this set, was taken along the summit rim trail of Mount Vesuvius. But now we're looking at a portion of the interior of the Gran Cono crater in portrait rather than landscape format.
I'm not sure if this slide has faded significantly over the years. However, I do remember that walk around the crater, with all its jarring contrasts. There were great pits of shadow alternating with zones of blinding glare. Where the sunlight was, it was searing and it sliced right through the Mediterranean salt haze. The air smelled of hot airborne dust. So the image has a certain veracity regardless of its state of preservation.
In this shot, the rim is less distinct but the succession of light lava and darker tephra strata is more obvious. Also visible are the landslide deposits that fill the lower portion of what once was a considerably deeper hole.
This loose rock blankets the conduit and vent that created the Gran Cono from the 1600s onward. Were a new Plinian eruption to occur, this material would quickly be coughed up and out onto the surrounding terrain. As would much or all of the current cone itself.
Whether that's likely before the Campi Flegrei caldera at the northern end of the Naples metropolitan area lets loose in some major way, I of course don't know. Though I note the latter has seen an uptick of seismic activity recently.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Integrative Natural History of Mount Vesuvius & the Gulf of Naples album.
Integrative Natural History of Mount Vesuvius & the Gulf of Naples, Part 4: Sun, Shade, and Strata | Campania, Italy
This photo, in common with Part 3 of this set, was taken along the summit rim trail of Mount Vesuvius. But now we're looking at a portion of the interior of the Gran Cono crater in portrait rather than landscape format.
I'm not sure if this slide has faded significantly over the years. However, I do remember that walk around the crater, with all its jarring contrasts. There were great pits of shadow alternating with zones of blinding glare. Where the sunlight was, it was searing and it sliced right through the Mediterranean salt haze. The air smelled of hot airborne dust. So the image has a certain veracity regardless of its state of preservation.
In this shot, the rim is less distinct but the succession of light lava and darker tephra strata is more obvious. Also visible are the landslide deposits that fill the lower portion of what once was a considerably deeper hole.
This loose rock blankets the conduit and vent that created the Gran Cono from the 1600s onward. Were a new Plinian eruption to occur, this material would quickly be coughed up and out onto the surrounding terrain. As would much or all of the current cone itself.
Whether that's likely before the Campi Flegrei caldera at the northern end of the Naples metropolitan area lets loose in some major way, I of course don't know. Though I note the latter has seen an uptick of seismic activity recently.
The other photos and descriptions of this series can be found in my Integrative Natural History of Mount Vesuvius & the Gulf of Naples album.