Are The Similarities Between Mount Vesuvius And Mount Tambora Volcano

Introduction

This poster will compare and contrast two major volcanoes, Mount Vesuvius located on the Italian east coast and Mount Tambora located on the northern coast of Sumbawa island, Indonesia. Volcanoes are the most destructive natural disasters. Both Mount Vesuvius and Mount Tambora have caused great destruction in the past, killing many people and destroying entire cities. This poster will compare and contrast the volcanoes types/structure, the cause of the eruptions and the current levels of activity .

Body

Both Mount Vesuvius and Mount Tambora are stratovolcanoes. A stratovolcano is a tall, conical volcano that often reaches the height of 2500 meters. They are made up of one layer of hardened lava, tephra (often called block rocks or bombs), and volcanic ash and are characterized by a step profile and periodic and explosive eruptions. The lava is highly viscous or thick, it cools and hardens quickly before spreading far. The magma is composed of rock that is acidic, and high in silica.

Mount Vesuvius reaches the height 1281 metres, while Mount Tambora reached the height of 4300 metres before it erupted in 1815. The crater is 6 km in diametre and 1,100 metres deep.
On April 10, 1815, the Tambora Volcano produced the largest eruption in recorded history.
According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration website (NASA) an estimated 150 cubic kilometers (36 cubic miles) of tephra—exploded rock and ash—resulted, with ash from the eruption found at least 1,300 kilometers away from the volcano. Historical records and analysis of eruption deposits show that the volcano had been active between 1812 and 1815. Enough ash was put into the atmosphere from the April 10 eruption to reduce sunlight on the Earth’s surface, causing cooling, which resulted in year without a summer in
1816.

Tsunamis may also have been produced with waves possibly measuring a height of 10 metres due to the eruption in 1815. It is also thought that the eruption produced tsunamis with waves possibly as high as 10 metres.

The crater floor now contains a freshwater lake, rock deposits, small lava flows and domes that were formed from earlier eruptions. Mount Tambora is still considered active with its most recent eruption in 1967.

Mount Vesuvius is considered to be one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to the the number of people that live in the city of Naples and the surrounding towns located near the volcano.

The volcano has had explosive eruptions. Vesuvius and other Italian volcanoes are part of the Campanian volcanic arc. The Campanian arc sits on a tectonic boundary between the African and Eurasian plates.

According to the livescience website, scientists have detected a tear in the African plate under Mount Vesuvius. This opening allows heat from the Earth’s mantle layer to melt the rock of the African plate and building up pressure that causes violent explosive eruptions. The last eruption was in 1944 and it has had a 20 year cycle.

Approximately 11,000–12,000 people were killed by the eruption of Tambora. The 79 AD eruption which destroyed the ancients cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum is what Mount Vesuvius is most famous for. Mount Vesuvius killed more than 2 000 people at 79 AD eruption but it perfectly preserved the bodies and way of life of those people who lived in those towns. It has become a time capsule. Mount Tambora is often called the Pompeii of the east as it to unexpectedly killed many people. This is the main similarity between these two volcanoes.

Conclusion

Therefore Mount Vesuvius and Mount Tambora are both very destructive volcanoes. Both are a stratovolcanoes, they caused massive eruptions, and both are still active today. If one of Mount Vesuvius or Mount Tambora were to erupt if would cause massive damage and death to people today.