Plinian eruption Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus(61 AD – ca. 112 AD), better known as Pliny the Younger Sixth Book of Letters, Letter 16, verses 5-6 http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/pliny.html (Latin) http://www.volcanolive.com/pliny.html (English) 5 Nubes — incertum procul intuentibus ex quo monte;
Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est — oriebatur, cuius similitudinem
et formam non alia magis arbor quam pinus expresserit. (The
cloud was rising from a mountain - at such a distance we couldn't tell which, but
afterwards learned that it was Vesuvius. I can best describe its shape
by likening it to a pine tree.) 6 Nam longissimo velut trunco elata in altum quibusdam ramis diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu evecta, dein
senescente eo destituta aut etiam pondere suo victa in latitudinem
vanescebat, candida interdum, interdum sordida et maculosa prout terram
cineremve sustulerat. (It
rose into the sky on a very long "trunk" from which spread some "branches."
I imagine it had been raised by a sudden blast, which then weakened, leaving
the cloud unsupported so that its own weight caused it to spread
sideways. Some of the cloud was white, in other parts there were dark patches
of dirt and ash.) |