Volcano. Just take a minute to absorb the sound of the word. What exactly are these large hills of iery mayhem? Picture yourself back in the day. Way back in the day. Its August 24, AD 79 and life is just normal. You pass by in the village and glance up at the Vesuvius Volcano. It is smoking…nothing to worry about, especially since it has been dormant for so long. And then suddenly, BOOM! Red-hot ashes bury you and consume your life in an instant. This is exactly what happened thousands of years ago in the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The volcano had erupted so suddenly and violently that in just a matter of hours, the cities were entirely covered with smoldering ashes and simmering lava.
Excavation digs were frequently held hundreds of years after the incident but it was not until 1748 when the ruins were discovered. According to ancient history, the volcano that exploded in Pompeii was inactive for hundreds of years, evidenced by the growth of plant life all around its sides. However, when an earthquake shook its foundations, it seemed to have "awoken" from its long nap. The problem is, most people did not take it seriously for they did not expect it to erupt with such ferocity.
In the modern day, we can liken this event to the Mount St. Helens explosion on May 18, 1980. The damage was overwhelming as rescue crews tried to locate the 57 dead or missing from the catastrophe. Mount St. Helens caused a powerful scourge of mudslides and lava flows all around the direct vicinity of the volcano. After the incident, people were reminded of the power of these natural disasters and have learned that the Earth is still very active on the inside.
Overall, volcanoes play a major role in the study of our Earth's interior and exterior. The crust of the Earth is comprised mainly of volcanic material and is evidenced by the heavy accumulations of basalt in places like Hawaii and Iceland.
Terrestrial Volcanoes 
