Plinian eruption
Explosive column eruption
A Plinian eruption is the most violent type of volcanic explosion, sending a column of ash, gas, and rock tens of kilometers into the atmosphere.
Named for Pliny the Younger, who described Vesuvius burying Pompeii in 79 CE.
These eruptions produce pyroclastic flows—fast-moving currents of hot gas and debris—that devastate surrounding areas: The volcano showed signs of an impending Plinian eruption.
Italian volcano, historically destructive
- HerculaneumRoman town buried by eruption
- Pliny the YoungerRoman letter-writing statesman
- Roman EmpireAncient state from Augustus onward
- archaeologyStudy of physical remnants
Pliny the Elder · excavation · casts · preservation · frescoes · villas · Naples · antiquity
Hot volcanic gas-debris mixture
- tephraEjected volcanic material
- lava bombMolten rock projectile
- volcanic lightningElectrical discharge within eruption plumes
- ashfallAirborne volcanic debris descending
shockwave · volcanic winter · lahar · convection · fallout · ejecta · vent · crater
Lightweight volcanic abrasive
- tephraEjected volcanic material
- ashCombustion's powdery remains
- tuffSolidified volcanic ash
- scoriaPorous volcanic ejecta
volcanic glass · rhyolite · andesite · obsidian · perlite · volcanic bomb · sulfur dioxide · volcanic gases
Layered cone-shaped volcanic mountain
- magma chamberSubsurface pocket holding liquefied rock
- subduction zoneWhere one plate slides under another
- lava domeSteep-sided volcanic mound
- viscosityFluid's flow resistance
plate tectonics · lithosphere · geothermal · seismology · volcanologist · igneous rock · hotspot · conduit
Severe widespread destruction
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- burialPlacing deceased underground
- incinerationBurning waste to ash
asphyxiation · collapse · evacuation · refugees · famine · darkness · climate impact · crop failure
Vesuvius
Italian volcano, historically destructive
- HerculaneumRoman town buried by eruption
- Pliny the YoungerRoman letter-writing statesman
- Roman EmpireAncient state from Augustus onward
Pliny the Elder · archaeology · excavation · casts · preservation · frescoes · villas · Naples · antiquity · buried
pyroclastic flow
Hot volcanic gas-debris mixture
- tephraEjected volcanic material
- lava bombMolten rock projectile
- volcanic lightningElectrical discharge within eruption plumes
ashfall · shockwave · volcanic winter · lahar · convection · fallout · ejecta · vent · crater · caldera
pumice
Lightweight volcanic abrasive
scoria · volcanic glass · rhyolite · andesite · obsidian · perlite · volcanic bomb · sulfur dioxide · volcanic gases · aerosols
stratovolcano
Layered cone-shaped volcanic mountain
- magma chamberSubsurface pocket holding liquefied rock
- subduction zoneWhere one plate slides under another
- lava domeSteep-sided volcanic mound
viscosity · plate tectonics · lithosphere · geothermal · seismology · volcanologist · igneous rock · hotspot · conduit · volcanic arc
devastation
Severe widespread destruction
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
- annihilationUtter, complete destruction
- burialPlacing deceased underground
incineration · asphyxiation · collapse · evacuation · refugees · famine · darkness · climate impact · crop failure · casualties
- volcanoesvolcano, Mount Fuji, caldera, lava, crater