The Eruption of Mount Vesuvius — Passage and Quiz

Firsthand Account: Pliny the Younger's Letter

August 24, 79 AD: The day began with a strange cloud rising from Mount Vesuvius, shaped like a pine tree. As ash and pumice began to fall, my uncle decided to investigate closer. I stayed behind with my mother. The earth shook violently, and the sea seemed to roll back upon itself. Darkness fell as if the sun had been extinguished. People cried out in fear, thinking the world was ending. We tied pillows to our heads for protection from the falling rocks and fled the city.

Secondhand Account: History Textbook Excerpt

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD was one of the most catastrophic volcanic events in European history. It buried the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum under meters of ash and pumice, preserving them for centuries. The eruption lasted for two days, ejecting molten rock, pulverized pumice, and hot ash at a rate of 1.5 million tons per second. The event was recorded by Pliny the Younger in two letters to the historian Tacitus, providing valuable eyewitness accounts of the disaster.