above is a picture of Mount Vesuvius. the photo was taken by Melvin .C Shaffer in 1944 ( Shaffer, Melvin C. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. )

Mount Vesuvius is a composite volcano  which is active in Italy. Mount Vesuvius is part of  the Campanile volcanic arc which sits on the tectonic plate where the African plate is subducted under the European plate. in the power point we watched in class today, it was all about earthquakes and volcanoes, this one being with an extremely devastating past. subduction is when one plate over laps the other. composite volcanoes are typically found near subduction zones, just like Mount Vesuvius. what happens is that when the magma reaches the surface, gas builds up until there is too much. that is what causes an eruption! the photo is an eruption in 1944. Mount Vesuvius is best known for is destruction of the city of Pompeii. Mount Vesuvius has experienced eight major eruptions in the last 17,000 years.

websites i used:

http://www.livescience.com/27871-mount-vesuvius-pompeii.html

http://geology.com/volcanoes/vesuvius/