Eruption List of Vesuvio

This list is based mainly on the formidable 1631-1944 eruption log compiled by Scandone et al. (1993), the pre-1631 data are based on Volcanoes of the World (1994 edition).

• -5960±100
• ca. -3580
• -1740±150
• before -800
• before -600
• 24-28(±1) August 79: Pompei Plinian eruption, probably more than 3500 deaths
• 172
• 203
• 222-235
• 379-395
• 5-6 November 472
• 9 November 505
• 8 July 512
• 536
• February-March (?) 685
• 787
• November or December 968
• 991 (uncertain)
• 999 (uncertain)
• 1007
• 27 January 1037
• 1049
• 1073±5
• 1-9 June 1139: vigorous lava emission
• 1150 (uncertain)
• 1270 (uncertain, not probable)
• 1347 (not probable)
• 1500 (if any eruption occurred in this year, it was only a small phreatic event, but may also have been a landslide within the crater or increased fumarolic activity)
• 15 December 1631 - late January 1632: sub-Plinian eruption with devastating tephra falls and pyroclastic flows, probably more than 4000 killed
• 1 July 1637 - 31 December 1652: intermittent minor activity within great 1631 crater
• 25 February 1654 - 28 March 1680, including major activity on
  • 3-29 July 1660: vigorous explosive eruption; tephra falls cause damage in villages around the volcano; glowing avalanches reported on 6 July
  • 26-28 March 1680: sub-cycle closing eruption with ash falls around the volcano
• 12-22 August 1682: vigorous eruption with heavy ash falls around the volcano, lava fills part of the 1631 crater. 4 fatalities are recorded
• 3 October 1685 - 29 April 1694: sub-cycle, ending with a final eruption on
  • 13-29 April 1694: vigorous explosive and effusive activity, with lava overflowing on the outer flanks of the Vesuvian cone for the first time in the new (post 1631) eruptive cycle. No major damage is reported
• 31 July 1696 - 15 July 1698: sub-cycle, with notable activity on
  • 31 July - 14 August 1696: lava effusion onto the outer flanks of Vesuvio cone, follwing the path of the 1694 flow
  • 15 September 1697 - 9 January 1698: up to eight episodes of increased lava emission on the flanks of the cone, with one lava flow stopping only 1 km from Torre del Greco
  • 19 May - 15 July 1698: sub-cycle closing eruption with increased explosive activity and lava emission
• 1 July 1701 - 22 August 1707: sub-cycle, with notable activity on
  • 1-15 July 1701: lava emission from fracture on E side of the cone and increased tephra emission
  • 19-23 May 1704: vigorous Strombolian activity
  • 29 July - 22 August 1707: final eruption with lava flows from flank fractures and violent damaging tephra falls
• 5 February 1712 - 8 July 1723: sub-cycle, with notable activity occurring on
  • April-May 1712: occasional lava flows onto the outer flanks of the cone
  • 25 October - 8 November 1712: occasional lava outflows
  • 12 April - 25 May 1713: occasional lava outflow
  • 15-30 June 1714: lava flows on the flanks, tephra emission
  • 6-18 June and 22-26 December 1717: lava flows from fractures on S and E flanks
  • 3 September 1718 - 9 July 1719: intermittent lava emission onto N flank
  • 20 April - 8 July 1723: final eruption with initial explosive activity, then lava flows and powerful explosive activity. Damage in surrounding towns by tephra falls
• 4 September 1724 - 1 April 1730: sub-cycle, with notable activity occurring on
  • 4-29 September 1724: explosive and effusive summit activity
  • 10 January - 15 August 1728: intermittent lava outflow and explosive summit activity
  • 27 February - 1 April 1730: final eruption with vigorous tephra and lava emission, collapse of the summit at the end of the eruption
• 25 December 1732 - 4 June 1737: sub-cycle, with notable activity on
  • 25 December 1732 - 10 January 1734: explosive summit activity with intermittent lava flows onto the flanks of the cone
  • 1-30 July 1735: lava flow
  • 14 May - 4 June 1737: devastating final eruption with lava from a fracture on the SW flank; lava flow destroys much of Torre del Greco and heavy damage in many towns by tephra falls
• 1 November 1744 - 6 January 1761: sub-cycle, with many episodes of increased activity, such as
  • 25 October 1751 - 25 February 1752: lava outflow on SE flank
  • 2 December 1754 - 27 March 1759: intermittent lava from fractures on the SE and E sides of the cone and summit explosive activity; later lava overflows frequently from summit crater towards W and N flanks
  • 29-31 March 1759: lava flows on W and E flanks cause significant damage
  • 6 November 1759 - 22 December 1760: frequent lava overflows onto the S flank with flows reaching cultivated land and causing damage
  • 23 December 1760 - 6 January 1761: final eruption; a new fracture forms on the S flank at about 27 m elevation; lava moves towards Torre Annunziata and destroys cultivated land; further damage in other towns by heavy tephra falls
• 1 July 1764 - 27 October 1767: sub-cycle, with episodes of increased activity on the following dates:
  • 28 March - 15 December 1766: lava from the summit crater and from fractures on the upper flanks of the cone with lava towards S and NE
  • 19-27 Octobewr 1767: final eruption with fracturing of the active cone on the NNW side, strong explosive activity but lava does not reach inhabited areas
• 15 February 1770 - 13 August 1779: sub-cycle, with notable activity occurring several times:
  • 15 February - 30 April 1770: increasingly vigorous Strombolian activity followed by lava flow from E flank fracture in mid-March, repeated lava effusion until the end of April
  • 1-30 May 1771: lava effusion from a flank fracture towards W, damage to cultivated land
  • 29 December 1773 - 1 February 1774: lava repeatedly overflows NE rim of crater and moves down the N flank
  • 4 August - 1 December 1774: renewed lava effusion on N flank
  • 20 December 1775 - 3 April 1776: lava effusion from flank fractures, mainly on the N and NW sides
  • 29 July - 13 August 1779: final eruption, beginning with lava flow from a NNE flank fracture, later new fractures open on the N and NE flanks. At midnight on 8 August, the first episode of violent lava fountaining (up to 2000 m above the crater) occurs, followed by another during the succeeding night. Vigorous tephra emission continues for about a week, and much destruction is caused by the fall of pyroclastics, mainly in Ottaviano, Somma and other villages in the N to NE sector of the volcano. Several people are killed
• 18 August 1783 - 5 July 1794: sub-cycle, with episodes of increased activity on the following dates:
  • 1 July 1785 - 30 November 1787: Strombolian summit activity is followed in August 1787 by lava outflow to Fosso della Vetrana; this flow eventually reaches and destroys Romitorio dei Padri Basiliani
  • 1-15 August 1788: lava from a flank fracture
  • 5 September - 16 November 1790: vigorous explosive activity and episodic lava outflow towards W and S; powerful explosive activity in October-November
  • 16 June - 5 July 1794: final eruption; vigorous lava emission from SW and NE flank fractures. The SW flank flow soon completely overwhelms Torre del Greco (its third destruction in less than 170 years), building a new peninsula out into the sea. Vigorous tephra emission follows, causing total destruction in Somma, Ottaviano and S. Anastasia. Lahars occur during and after the eruption. This is one of the most devastating eruptions of the 1631-1944 cycle, with about 400 casualties. The summit loses 121 m in height
• 15 January 1796 - 16 November 1822: long-lasting sub-cycle with numerous episodes of strongly increased activity, such as:
  • 12 August - 28 November 1804: repeated lava flows invade areas of cultivated land on the SW flank, causing extensive damage
  • 12 August - 19 October 1805: vigorous lava fountaining and rapid lava outflow on the SW flank; five lava flows reach the base of the cone and one enters the sea S of Torre del Greco (not shown on the Geological Map that predates the 1987 map in Santacroce et al.); in mid-October, lava flows stop at short distance from rebuilt Torre del Greco
  • 31 May - 9 June 1806: lava flows again discharge onto the SW flank, essentially in the same area as those of the preceding year; one arm enters the sea on top of the 1805 lobe S of Torre del Greco; damage in Ottaviano by tephra falls and in Torre del Greco by the lava
  • 4-5 September 1809: lava from SE flank fracture
  • 11-22 September 1810: lava flows reach the base of the cone north of the 1804-1806 lavas
  • 1 January - 28 February 1812: lava from flank fracture moves towards SW
  • 9 October 1813 - 28 February 1814: minor lava outflow onto the outer flanks of the central cone and onto the caldera floor
  • 22-26 December 1817: lava flows from NE and SW flank fractures
  • February 1819: lava overflows onto the E flank
  • 1 December 1819 - 31 May 1820: lava from fractures on the upper NW and W flanks
  • 15 January - 28 February 1822: increased explosive activity with lava outflow
  • 21 October - 16 November 1822: final eruption; violent lava fountaining and small glowing avalanches, lava effusion from vents mainly on the E and SW flanks; explosive activity is strongest on 23-24 October
• 2 July 1824 - 2 September 1834: sub-cycle, with increased activity occurring on the following dates:
  • 14 August 1831 - 23 December 1832: intermittent lava overflows from the summit crater
  • 25 May - 15 June 1833: repeated lava flows, mainly on the SW flank
  • 27 November 1833 - 16 January 1834: repeated lava effusion from SW flank fractures
  • 22 August - 2 September 1834: final eruption; strong explosive activity and lava effusion from vents on the E flank; eruption is accompanied by lahars
• 1 January 1835 - 3 January 1839: sub-cycle, with increased activity as follows:
  • 1 January 1835 - 31 December 1839: summit activity, mainly Strombolian; lava outflow in March 1838
  • 1-3 January 1839: final eruption; lava flow towards W, later effusion from fractures on E and W flanks and strong explosive activity; lava fountains to 400 m above summit and tephra falls towards S
• 20 September 1841 - 16 February 1850: sub-cycle, with quasi-continuous summit activity during all these years; then finally on:
  • 5-16 February 1850: final eruption, initially with lava effusion from N flank fissure; the lava traverses the Atrio del Cavallo towards E and then SE; strong explosive activity during the last days of the eruption
• 14 December 1854 - 27 May 1855: very short sub-cycle, the final eruption occurring on:
  • 1-27 May 1855: explosive activity and opening of new vents on the N flank; lava moves to the W on the caldera floor (Fosso della Vetrana), arriving at S. Sebastiano and Massa di Somma (on the NW flank of the volcano), causing some damage
• 19 December 1855 - 31 December 1861: sub-cycle, with significant activity occurring during the following periods:
  • 27 May 1858 - 12 April 1861: intermittent lava effusion from flank vents in the Piano delle Ginestre, causing damage to arable land
  • 8-31 December 1861: final eruption, with the formation of a spectacular fracture on the low SSW flank; several conelets form on the fracture and lava moves towards Torre del Greco and Resina (now called Ercolano); damage caused by ground fracturing but the lava does not reach any of the towns; explosive summit activity during the last days of activity
• 10 February 1864 - 26 November 1868: sub-cycle, with notable activity on the following dates:
  • 15 November 1867 - 31 May 1868: intermittent lava overflows from summit crater and later from a fissure on the ESE flank; occasional strong explosive activity
  • 15-26 November 1868: final eruption; lava from NW flank fissure with flows moving down Fosso della Vetrana and Fosso Faraone, explosive summit activity
• December 1870 - 30 April 1872: sub-cycle, with notable activity during all of 1871 and through April 1872; followed by a final eruption on:
  • 24-30 April 1872: lava flows from NW flank fissures; formation of a new large fracture on the NW flank (accompanied by a large avalanche from the cone) with about 25 tourists killed; lava flows down the Fosso della Vetrana and Fosso Faraone, destroying parts of S. Sebastiano and Massa; strong explosive activity at summit during final stages of the eruption
• 18 December 1875 - 22 April 1906: 30-years-long sub-cycle, including numerous episodes and periods of increased activity, most notably on the following dates:
  • 1878-1880: lava effusion from fracture on upper NW flank, growth of a new intracrateral cone, 1872 crater gradually filled with lava
  • 16 December 1881 - 31 March 1884: lava effusion from subterminal bocca on the upper E flank, building a conspicuous lava apron, NNW flank effusion on 9 January 1884
  • 2 May 1885 - 1 July 1886: lava from fractures on the NE and SE flanks, with flows reaching base of the cone in the direction of Boscotrecase
  • 16-19 April 1887: lava flows to SE and increased explosive activity
  • 1 May - 30 September 1889: lava effusion (direction unknown) and collapse of the summit cone with formation of a new pit several hundred m wide
  • 7 June 1891 - 3 June 1894: long-lived effusive activity first from vents on the N flank (900-1000 m elevation), later from vents down to 830 m elevation on the 1868 fracture (NW flank); formation of a broad lava cupola (often described as a "lava dome" but actually a pile of numerous superposed lava flows) named Colle Margherita; at the end of this activity, lava completely fills the (previously 200 m deep) summit crater
  • 4 June 1894 - 2 July 1895: brief lava flow into the Atrio del Cavallo (the caldera floor) on 24 June 1895; by early July 1895 a new summit cone has grown 150 m above the former crater rim
  • 3 July 1895 - 7 September 1899: long-lived effusive activity from new vents at 1185-750 m elevation on WNW flank (slightly above the Observatory Hill), building a large (120 m high) shield of superposed lava flows that is named Colle Umberto; this is accompanied by successive collapse events on the summit leading to the formation of a new crater with an initial depth of 200 m (later decreased to 60 m due to landsliding)
  • 9-10 May 1900: vigorous explosive activity from the summit crater
  • 27 August 1903 - 30 September 1904: numerous episodes of summit Strombolian activity alternating with collapse of intracrateral conelets and lava effusion from fractures on the WNW flank, building a new, 40 m high, lava shield near Colle Umberto
  • 1905 - early 1906: vigorous growth of a new summit cone that eventually fills the summit crater and builds the volcano to an unprecedented height of 1335 m (May 1905)
  • March to early April 1906: near-continuous lava effusion from subterminal vents on the NW flank, lava flows reach the railway carrying to the electric funicular near the Observatory
  • 4-22 April 1906: final eruption, one of the largest since 1631, with lava effusion from vents on the S flank (down to 600 m elevation) and flows moving towards Torre Annunziata, two lava arms move across Boscotrecase village, destroying numerous buildings and reaching as far as the Circumvesuviana railway; rapidly increasing explosive activity from summit crater from 5 to 7 April, with incandescent ejecta to 1-2 km above summit on the evening of the 7th; very powerful lava fountaining continues through the afternoon of the 8th when an incandescent colum rises as much as 13 km above the summit; the summit of the cone is destroyed during this period (Perret (1924) describes the shattering of the summit as "the falling of the petals of a flower"); very heavy and devastating tephra fallout in the E to NNE sectors of the volcano, San Giuseppe and Ottaviano almost completely destroyed and more than 500 people killed; gradually decreasing explosive activity from the evening of 8 April on, with ash being carried in all directions; after the eruption the summit is found to be at least 170 m lower than before.
• 5 July 1913 - 4 April 1944: 30-years-long sub-cycle, with almost continuous activity from an intracrateral cone, including numerous episodes and periods of increased activity, most notably on the following dates:
  • 5 July 1913 - November 1926: growth of a new intracrateral cone and frequent lava emissions from that cone lead to a gradual filling of the vast 1906 crater
  • 27-28 November 1926: for the first time since 1906, lava overflows from the summit crater onto the outer slopes of the active cone; the overflow occurs on the NE crater rim where it is lowest; flows reach the Valle dell'Inferno and move E along the base of the Somma wall
  • 1-2 August 1927: lava overflows again the NE crater wall, following the course of the 1926 lava flow
  • 11-12 August 1928: still another overflow of lava onto the NE flank, this time reaching farther E than the previous (1927 and 1926) lava flows
  • 3-8 June 1929: strongly increased Strombolian activity from the intracrateral cone culminates in vigorous Hawaiian-style lava fountaining to about 500 m high and voluminous lava overflow onto the NE flank, down to the E across the Valle dell'Inferno and onto the outer (eastern) Somma flanks towards Terzigno; several houses are destroyed in the village of Campetiello; the intracrateral cone is largely destroyed by this activity
  • 11-30 July 1930: lava overflows the crater rim on the NE flank, covering the upper part of the 1929 lava flow
  • 2 October - 9 November 1930: lava overflows to the E
  • 1 June 1933 - 19 November 1934: lava overflows to the NE
  • 12 February - 31 March 1935: lava overflows to the E
  • 8 July - 21 August 1935: lava flows into the Valle dell'Inferno
  • 28 March - 24 September 1936: episodic lava overflow onto the E flank
  • 4 June - 7 July 1937: lava flows into the Valle dell'Inferno
  • 8-9 August 1939: lava flow reaches the Valle dell'Inferno
  • 26 June - 31 July 1940: lava overflows N crater rim and extends down to the Atrio del Cavallo
  • 22 October 1941 - 15 December 1942: lava overflows the crater rim in numerous directions, also onto the S, ESE and SSE flanks (for the first time after the 1906 eruption); the lava fronts reach about 600 m elevation; growth of two new lava aprons
  • 6 January - 23 February 1944: lava overflows onto the S flank (for the first time after the 1906 eruption)
  • 18 March - 4 April 1944: final eruption, ending the eruptive cycle begun in 1631; after 18 March, lava repeatedly overflows the N crater rim, reaching the base of the Somma wall and turning W, covering the Atrio del Cavallo and Fosso della Vetrana (a valley lying north of the Observatory Hill); on 21 March the lava reaches the villages of San Sebastiano and Massa on the lower NNW flank, causing their partial destruction; that afternoon there occurs the first of 8 episodes of vigorous lava fountaining that last until the evening of 22 March; the last and most vigourous fountaining episode causes heavy tephra showering in the W, SW and E sectors of the volcano, causing damage in the Terzigno area (most of the reported 26 deaths of this eruption are probably due to this tephra fall); eruption columns rise to 6-7 km above sea-level and numerous small glowing avalanches descend on all sides of the active cone; decreasing activity after 23 March; the crater shifts to the south, building a new high rim on the NE side.

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This page was last modified on 31 May 1996