Vesuvius – A Classic Volcano
In this illustrated talk, Dr Hamish Campbell explores the history, geology, and scientific significance of Vesuvius. This volcano devastated the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 AD.
This talk was recorded on Thursday 4 February 2010, in the Wellington Foyer, Level 2.
Mount Vesuvius (1,281 metres) is the only active volcano on mainland Europe. It rises ominously above Naples in south-west Italy on the edge of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It last erupted in 1944.
The volcano is a product of plate collision – the movement of the oceanic crust of the African Plate beneath the continental crust of the Eurasian Plate. It behaves rather like New Zealand’s active volcanoes, Ruapehu, Tongariro, and White Island.
New Zealand Sign Language interpreters will interpret this talk.
Dr Hamish Campbell
Dr Hamish Campbell is a research scientist employed by GNS Science in Lower Hutt. He is well known as 'the geologist at Te Papa', having worked with the Museum since it opened in 1998. He was involved in Te Papa's Awesome Forces exhibition, and in the Volcanoes exhibition at Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Campbell has been a professional geologist since 1978. His main research has focused on the older rocks and fossils of New Zealand. He was educated at Otago, Auckland, and Cambridge universities.