What is Mount Vesuvius?
[[File:Vesuvius from Pompeii (hires version 2 scaled).png|thumb|right|Mt. Vesuvius as seen from the ruins of [[Pompeii]], which was destroyed when it erupted in [[79|AD 79]]. The active cone is the high peak on the left side. The smaller one on the right is part of the Somma caldera wall.]] '''Mount Vesuvius''' ({{lang-it|Monte Vesuvio}}, {{lang-la|Mons Vesuvius}}) is a [[stratovolcano]] on the [[Gulf of Naples]], [[Italy]]. It is about {{convert|8|km|mi|0}} east of [[Naples]]. It is the only [[volcano]] on the mainland of Europe that erupted in the last 100 years. The last major eruption was in 1944. Two other important [[active volcano]]s in Italy, [[Mount Etna|Etna]] and [[Stromboli]], are on [[island]]s. Mount Vesuvius is best known for its [[wikt:erupt|eruption]] in [[79|A.D. 79]] which destroyed the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] cities of [[Pompeii]] and [[Herculaneum]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Gay |first=Peter |author2=Time-Life Books |title=Age of Enlightenment |url=https://archive.org/details/ageofenlightenme00gayp |year=1966 |publisher=Time |pages=[https://archive.org/details/ageofenlightenme00gayp/page/97 97] |chapter=A Vogue for Sentimentality}}</ref> They were never built again. The towns were buried in ash so completely that later people who lived there forgot about them until they were accidentally discovered in the late 18th century. The eruption also changed the way the [[Sarno River]] flowed, and raised the sea [[beach]]. Because of this, Pompeii was not on the river nor next to the [[wikt:coast|coast]] anymore. Mount Vesuvius was also greatly changed. Many of the plants there died, and the top of the mountain looked different because of the strong eruption. Vesuvius has erupted many times after that. Today, it is one of the most dangerous [[volcano]]es in the world. About 3 million people live near this [[wikt:explosive|explosive]] volcano. More people live near Mount Vesuvius than any other volcano in the world.<ref name=mcguire2003>{{cite news |first=Bill |last=McGuire |title= In the shadow of the