Mount Vesuvius

Mount Vesuvius, only active volcano on mainland Europe, in southern Italy near Naples. Its height (about 4,000 ft/6,440 km) varies with each eruption. Capped by a plume of smoke, it is a famous landmark. Its lower slopes are extremely fertile. In A.D. 79 it destroyed the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Recent eruptions occurred in 1906, 1929, and 1944.

See also: Pompeii.